M. 


THE  REPUBLIC, 


To  METHODISM,  9r. 


BY  H.  H.  MOORE,  D.  D. 


"Men  put  .    .  new  wine  in  new  bottles,  and  both  are  preserved. 


CINCINNATI:    CRANSTON  &  STOWE. 

NEW  YORK:   HUNT  &  EATON. 

1891. 


Copyright 

By  CRANSTON  &  STOWE, 
1891. 


PREFACE. 


WHAT!  Another  book  on  Methodism !  Why 
not?  It  is  said  that  the  Astor  Library  in 
New  York  contains  seven  hundred  and  fifteen 
volumes,  large  and  small,  against  Methodism,  and 
evidently  it  is  somebody's  duty  to  make  this  form 
of  religious  faith  more  fully  understood.  Besides, 
the  work  and  outward  expression  of  Methodism 
are  ever  changing,  and  they  will  continue  to 
change  from  year  to  year  as  long  as  its  healthy 
growth  continues.  As  the  traveler  floats  down 
the  Nile,  with  every  passing  hour  new  scenery  is 
presented  to  him,  and  the  descriptions  he  may 
write  of  the  observations  of  one  day  will  not  rep- 
resent the  observations  of  any  other  day.  So 
Methodism,  for  more  than  one  hundred  years,  has 
been  in  the  field  of  conflict,  and  it  is  time  the  call 
were  made  again:  "Watchman,  what  of  the 
night?"  Has  Methodism  yet  clearly  defined  its 
place  in  Providence?  And  if  so,  what  is  it?  and 
what  the  specific  work  it  has  to  do?  These  ques- 
tions the  following  pages  propose  to  answer. 


4  PREFACE. 

A  young  Methodism,  with  a  mighty  future,  is 
our  conception  of  the  Church. 

This  volume  is  not  history,  but  it  purports  to 
be  the  lessons  of  history,  spun  into  an  argument. 
"History  is  philosophy  teaching  by  example." 
The  early  struggles  of  the  Church  have  been 
brought  forward,  not  only  for  the  lessons  they 
teach,  but  because  they  form  a  part  of  a  homo- 
geneous whole.  The  facts  of  Methodist  history, 
whether  found  in  the  store-house  of  memory,  or 
in  Stevens's,  Bangs's,  Daniels's,  or  Dorchester's 
Histories,  or  in  the  Biographies  of  Cartwright, 
Young,  Finley,  or  anywhere  else,  we  have  freely 
used,  and  yet  only  fragments  of  the  abundance  of 
material  at  our  hands  have  been  appropriated. 
The  plan  of  our  work  was  to  use  only  what  was 
needed  to  serve  as  a  basis  to  the  argument. 

EMI,ENTON,  PA. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 
PREFACE 3 

INTRODUCTION, 7 

CHAPTER  I. 

METHODISM  A  SPECIAL  DISPENSATION  OF  SPIRITUAL 
POWER, 21 

CHAPTER  II. 

OUR  COUNTRY  AS  THE  THEATER  FOR  THE  DEVELOPMENT 
OF  METHODISM 39 

CHAPTER  III. 

INADEQUACY  OF  THE  OLD  CHURCHES  TO  MEET  THE  SPIR- 
ITUAL WANTS  OF  THE  NATION, 59 

CHAPTER  IV. 

METHODISM,  BY  A  SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE,  RAISED  UP 
SIMULTANEOUSLY  WITH  THE  NATION  TO  BE  TO  IT  AS 
"NEW  WINE  IN  A  NEW  BOTTLE," 81 

CHAPTER  V. 

METHODISM  AND  THE  OLD  CHURCHES  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF 
THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR, 99 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  MISSION  OF  METHODISM  INTRUSTED  TO  MIGHTY 
MKN, i2i 

5 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PAGE. 

METHODISM  IN  CONTACT  WITH  THE  NATION  MOLDING 
ITS  INSTITUTIONS, 145 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
A  HUNDRED  YEARS  OK  METHODISM, 167 

CHAPTER  IX. 

METHODISM  AS  A  CONSERVATOR  OF  THE  MORAL  FORCES 
OF  THE  REPUBLIC, 189 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  THEOLOGY  OF  PROTESTANT  CHRISTENDOM  THE  GIFT 
OF  METHODISM, 209 

CHAPTER  XI. 
METHODISM  IN  THE  HYMNS  OF  THE  SANCTUARY, 239 

CHAPTER  XII. 

METHODISM  AS  THE  INITIATOR  OF  NATIONAL  TEMPER- 
ANCE REFORMATION, 255 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

METHODISM   AS   AN    AGENCY    TO    PRODUCE    NATIONAL 
HOMOGENEITY, 273 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  TRANSITION  PERIOD  OF  THE  WORK  OF  METHODISM,  .  295 

CHAPTER  XV. 

METHODISM  ADAPTED  TO  THE  SPIRITUAL  CONDITION  OF 
ALL  PHASES  OF  SOCIETY,  .% 313 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  WORK  OF  METHODISM,  ..   .   .331 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

To  FULFILL  ITS  MISSION,  METHODISM  MUST  BE  TRUE  TO 
ITSELF, 349 


INTRODUCTION. 


OUR  attention  has  often  been  arrested  by  encomi- 
ums pronounced  upon  Methodism  by  people  who 
were  not  of  its  communion.  Among  historians,  Ma- 
caulay  and  Green  are  the  most  appreciative  of  its 
merits  in  England,  and  Bancroft  in  the  United  States. 
Isaac  Taylor  regards  it  as  a  special  dispensation  of 
grace  to  the  present  age. 

At  this  writing,  .Baptists,  Congregationalists,  Epis- 
copalians, Jews,  and  Presbyterians  are  contributing 
money  and  urging  Bishop  John  F.  Hurst  to  prosecute 
the  enterprise  of  founding,  in  Washington  City,  the 
growing  Capital  of  the  great  Republic,  a  Methodist 
university,  which  shall  be  to  this  country  what  Ox- 
ford University  is  to  England.  Evidently,  in  the 
judgment  of  far-seeing  men  of  all  classes,  Methodism 
in  this  country  is  to  have  a  future  correspondent  with 
the  triumphs  of  the  past,  and,  as  a  consequence,  to 
go  far  in  shaping  its  institutions. 

We  have  often  inquired,  On  what  basis  does  this 
outside  faith  and  interest  in  Methodism  rest?  What 
explanation  would  a  Jew  or  a  Presbyterian  give  for 
making  contributions  to  Methodist  missions,  Church 
extension,  and  to  the  building  of  universities?  We 
doubt  if,  in  many  instances,  any  but  the  most  general 
answers  could  be  given  to  these  questions.  But  in 
the  gift  of  one  million  and  a  quarter  of  dollars  by  the 
Vanderbilts  to  a  Methodist  university,  we  see  some- 

7 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

thing  deeper  than  sentiment  or  personal  influence. 
They  must  have  been  fully  persuaded  that  Method^ 
ism  was  a  great  power  for  good  in  the  world,  and  es- 
pecially for  this  country.  Years  ago,  when  rallied  by 
a  Methodist  on  the  looseness  of  his  Calvinism,  Henry 
Ward  Beecher  replied:  "Whether  this  is  Calvinism 
or  not,  I  fully  believe  that  it  is  predestinated  that  the 
Methodist  Church  shall  play  a  very  important  part  in 
the  affairs  of  this  world." 

What  does  it  signify  that  in  the  late  memorial 
service  held  to  commemorate  the  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  Wesley's  death,  the  secular  and  religious  press 
generally  vied  with  each  other  in  the  lofty  tributes 
they  paid  to  the  character  and  work  of  that  marvel- 
ous man?  The  following,  from  the  Christian  Union, 
may  be  taken  as  a  sample  of  the  whole: 

"  If  the  popular  conception  of  John  Wesley  be 
fair,  he  is  to  be  reckoned  one  of  the  few  men  gener- 
ally great.  And  it  is  certainly  worthy  of  remark  that 
each  decade  of  the  century  since  his  death  has  lifted 
his  fame  higher.  For  not  only  have  the  great  hosts 
who  rejoice  to  call  him  their  spiritual  father  acquired 
new  enthusiasm  with  each  fresh  discovery  of  his 
insight  and  foresight — 'the  knowledge  deep  and 
high ' — but  historians  and  men  of  letters,  who  are  not 
tricked  either  by  their  own  or  others'  fancies,  have 
constantly  enlarged  and  brightened  the  portrait  of 
this  great  apostle  of  the  latter  days.  He  now  belongs 
to  no  ecclesiastical  organization,  and  no  one  century 
can  claim  him.  A  prophet  in  the  deepest  sense,  the 
light  God  gave  him  and  the  work  he  did  are  the  in- 
heritage  of  all  men  and  all  ages." 

The  Universalist  Record,  published  in  Newark, 
N.  J.,  has  an  editorial  on  New  York's  eight-million- 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

dollar   cathedral,    which    contains   this    reference    to 
Methodism : 

"  We  have  no  representative  Church  in  this  coun- 
try; or,  if  we  have,  it  is  not  the  Episcopal  Church. 
More  than  any  other,  that  Church  '  hath  a  foreign 
air.'  It  is  one  of  the  smaller  of  the  leading  sects.  It 
is  essentially  a  Church  of  the  cities,  and  largely  of 
the  Eastern  cities.  Its  chords  of  sympathy  stretch 
backward  across  the  ocean  to  the  land  of  its  birth. 
More  nearly  than  any  other,  the  Methodist  Church  is 
representative  of  nineteenth  century  American  relig- 
ion. Not  only  by  its  moral  earnestness,  by  its  demo- 
cratic spirit  and  its  aggressiveness,  by  its  directness 
and  business-like  methods  and  its  good-humor,  but 
even  in  its  doctrinal  failures  at  logic,  its  theological 
patch-work,  it  is  representative  of  this  energetic  time 
of  transition,  this  hurrying  age  of  fact  and  change. 
Calvinism  belongs  to  the  past.  Universalism  belongs 
to  the  future.  Methodism  is  of  the  present,  and  has 
the  right,  if  any  Church  has,  to  erect  the  building 
which  shall  introduce  the  religion  of  the  nineteenth 
century  to  the  student  of  the  twenty-ninth.  The 
Methodists,  however,  would  not  build  an  eight-million- 
dollar  church  if  they  had  one  hundred  million  dollars 
to  spare.  They  would  erect  thousands  of  chapels  all 
over  the  world.  They  are  intent  upon  winning  the 
world  to  Christ,  not  with  superb  architecture,  but  with 
moral  conviction  and  conviction  of  sin.  They  are  not 
concerned  to  startle  the  future  with  a  display  of  fine 
art  for  which  religion  shall  be  taken  as  the  excuse. 
They  are  quite  content  with  houses  of  worship  which 
shall  be  comfortable,  not  offensive  to  taste,  roomy,  in 
which  a  multitude  can  hear  the  preacher  and  find 
their  way  to  the  mourners'  bench.  They  are  a  be- 


io  INTRODUCTION. 

nevolent  folk,  who  spread  their  hands  abroad,  and 
would  feel  that  any  such  centralization  of  power 
were  a  sad  misrepresentation  of  their  own  spirit  and 
purpose." 

The  following  conceptions  of  the  position  and 
mission  of  Methodism  come  from  over  the  sea: 

" '  I  have  not  yet  made  up  my  mind  whether  I  will 
be  a  Methodist  or  a  Roman  Catholic.'  That  may  seem 
to  be  an  extraordinary  pair  of  alternatives ;  but  those 
who  are  familiar  with  the  genius  of  Romanism  will 
not  be  startled  by  it.  These  systems  represent  the 
two  ultimate  Christian  alternatives:  faith  in  the  liv- 
ing Church  or  faith  in  the  living  Christ ;  confidence 
in  the  visible  organization  or  confidence  in  the  invis- 
ible experience  of  the  heart.  Nothing  in  modern  his- 
tory is  more  remarkable  than  the  unparalleled  growth 
of  Methodism  during  the  last  hundred  years.  The 
youngest  of  all  the  great  Protestant  Churches,  it  is 
already  the  most  numerous.  It  has  grown  suddenly 
with  the  British  Empire,  and  chiefly  within  the  limits 
of  the  English-speaking  communities.  Mr.  Stead  re- 
minds us  that  the  world  is  passing  into  the  hands  of 
the  English-speaking  peoples.  Methodism  at  this 
moment  commands  the  allegiance  of  a  larger  number 
of  English-speaking  men  and  women  than  any  other 
section  of  the  Christian  Church.  Of  course  we  in- 
clude in  this  estimate  the  United  States  of  America, 
where  Methodism  occupies  the  position  that  Angli- 
canism occupies  here.  The  one  great  drawback  to 
the  influence  of  Methodism  in  the  English-speaking 
world  is  the  fact  that  it  is  at  present  split  up  into  so 
many  sections.  But  already  in  Canada  all  the  Meth- 
odist Churches  have  united,  and  have,  consequently, 
become  the  most  numerous  and  influential  body  in 


INTROD  UCTION.  1 1 

that  great  Dominion.  The  movement  in  favor  of 
union  is  growing  and  spreading  in  the  Australian  Col- 
onies, in  the  United  States,  and  in  the  mother  coun- 
try. If  the  Methodists  only  acted  together,  they 
could  already  control  the  destinies  of  the  English- 
speaking  peoples. 

"  Some  day  they  will  act  together  for  spiritual 
purposes.  And  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  they 
alone,  of  all  the  Protestant  Churches,  have  an  organ- 
ization sufficiently  compact  to  cope  with  the  organ- 
ized strength  of  Rome.  Again,  as  to  the  socialistic 
tendencies  of  the  age,  Methodism  has  ever  been  above 
everything  else,  a  '  connexion '  or  a  brotherhood. 
There  is  a  sort  of  Freemasonry  among  Methodists 
that  distinguishes  them  from  other  religious  bodies. 
Their  ministers  are  organized  on  a  socialist  basis. 
No  man  receives  the  stipend  to  which  he  might  be 
individually  entitled.  Even  so  distinguished  an  or- 
ator, for  example,  as  the  late  Dr.  Punshon,  never  re- 
ceived more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  a  year, 
with  certain  additions  for  the  maintenance  and  educa- 
tion of  his  children.  The  itinerancy  and  the  class- 
meeting  tend  to  bind  Methodists  together,  and  to  pro- 
duce the  fraternization  which  is  peculiar  to  them. 
Now,  this  spirit  of  brotherliness  is  the  very  soil  in 
which  socialism  naturally  grows,  and  of  which  social- 
ism, in  some  form,  is  the  inevitable  expression. 

"  I/astly,  as  to  the  position  of  woman.  She  has 
always  occupied  in  Methodism  a  more  prominent  and 
active  sphere  than  in  any  other  community  except  the 
Society  of  Friends.  In  former  generations,  as  George 
Eliot  reminded  the  public  in  'Adam  Bede,'  woman 
preached ;  and  woman  is  beginning  to  preach  again. 
Tens  of  thousands  of  women  have  occupied  at  every 


1 2  INTROD  UCTION. 

period  the  semi-pastoral  position  of  class-leaders ;  and 
in  the  Salvation  Army,  which  is  essentially  a  Meth- 
odist movement,  the  absolute  equality  of  woman  has 
been  recognized  from  the  first.  These  peculiarities 
of  the  Methodist  Church  are  very  striking,  and  they 
at  least  prove  that  Methodism  is  peculiarly  qualified 
to  deal  with  the  special  characteristics  of  the  era  upon 
which  we  are  now  entering." 

Sixty-four  years  ago  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  in  a  letter 
to  friends  in  this  country,  said : 

"  As  I  believe  your  Nation  to  be  destined  to  be  the 
mightiest  and  happiest  Nation  on  the  globe,  so  I  be- 
lieve that  your  Church  is  likely  to  become  the  most 
extensive  and  pure  in  the  universe.  As  a  Church, 
abide  in  the  apostolic  doctrine  and  fellowship;  as  a 
Nation,  be  firmly  united." 

It  is  an  undisputed  fact  that  Romanists  in  this 
country  are  mostly  of  foreign  birth,  and  that  the  Jes- 
uits, priests,  and  bishops  are  thoroughly  alien  and 
mediaeval  in  their  spirit  and  opinions.  Before  com- 
ing to  this  country  their  character  was  as  completely 
formed  as  if  they  were  pig-iron,  and  had  been  cast  in 
a  mold.  Americans  they  are  not,  and  never  can  be. 
With  American  life  and  American  institutions  they 
can  never  have  the  least  sympathy.  To  the  extent 
of  their  number  they  should  not  be  regarded  as  an 
element  of  strength  to  the  country,  but  rather  of 
weakness.  That  Romanism  is  the  harbinger  of  igno- 
rance we  need  no  proof,  except  the  incessant  and 
fiendish  war  it  ceaselessly  wages  against  the  public 
schools  of  this  country.  Romanism,  ignorance,  and 
crime  form  a  triumvirate  which  are  inseparably  asso- 
ciated together. 

The  following,  by  William  Wheeler,  of  Chicago,  is 


INTRODUCTION. 


to  show  the  practical  effect  and  working  results  which 
the  control  or  overshadowing  influence  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  Church  has  upon  public  education, 
wherever  such  control  or  influence  exists.  This  is 
best  done  by  contrasting  the  percentage  of  illiterates 
in  countries  where  Romanism  and  Protestantism  are 
respectively  the  dominant  religions  of  the  people: 


ROMAN  CATHOLIC 
COUNTRIES. 

t& 

t~-t  03 
rt>- 

-"tp 

•  x> 

.  5 
.  3 

Population,  . 

Percentage  of 
Catholics,  .  . 

Percentage  of 
Illiteracy,  . 

Venezuela     

41Q.I2O 

2.O75.24S 

9° 

QO 

Austria-Hungary,  .    .    . 
France   

240,942 
2O4  092 

39,224,511 

•2,8  2l8  QO^ 

67.6 

78  s 

32 
2^ 

Brazil      

3  219  ooo 

IQ  Q22  ^7^ 

QQ 

8d 

107,767 

16958,178 

QQ 

60 

Portugal    

36028 

4,708,178 

QQ 

82 

Belgium     

ii  373 

5  520  009 

QQ 

42 

Italy 

no  620 

28  459  628 

QQ 

6  1  a  A 

Total,    

4,458,942 

148,087,027 

7  3Q.  I 

476.94 

Average     ....... 

Q2  I 

^Q  6  1 

PROTESTANT  COUNTRIES. 

<sS 

X? 

01 

~    V. 

•   ja 
'    p: 
.    P 
M 
•   n 

Population,  . 

Percentage  of 
Protestants, 

Percentage  of 
Illiteracy,  . 

Victoria     

87  884 

I  OOQ  7S"* 

7-7 

OT.^ 

Sweden      

I7O  Q7Q 

4  682  769 

QQ 

^O 

Switzerland      

I  S  8Q2 

2  846  1  02 

^Q 

10 

12,648 

4,336,012 

66 

10.50 

Germany       

21  1   I/1Q 

46  852  680 

626 

I  27 

14  121 

I  080  2^0 

QQ 

.36 

Great  Britain   .    .    .    .    . 

88  301 

•20,066  646 

Ql  1 

1  1  O9 

United  States,  

^  SOI  4O4 

S7  028  6oQ 

864 

Q  4O 

Total,   

A   IO2  ^78 

IAQ  7O2  Sv) 

6l8  1, 

•21  25^ 

Average,        . 

7Q  78 

41  ?6 

14  INTRODUCTION. 

Many  of  our  statesmen  see  these  things  in  their 
true  light ;  but  they  quiet  their  fears  of  popish  aggres- 
sions on  the  ground  that  Methodism  is  in  possession 
of  the  true  American  life,  and  that  it  will  hold  and 
perpetuate  it  against  all  invasions  from  abroad.  How 
extensively  this  feeling  prevails  we  are  unable  to  say  ; 
but  we  hope  that  too  much  is  not  expected  of  our  be- 
loved Zion. 

The  spread  of  popery  in  this  country  implies  the 
accession  to  citizenship  of  the  most  ignorant,  Sab- 
bath-breaking, and  licentious  elements  of  Ireland,  Italy, 
Spain,  and  Austria.  The  following  terrible  indict- 
ment of  Romanism  was  prepared  by  Rev.  M.  H.  Sey- 
mour, of  the  Church  of  England,  in  a  book  entitled 
"Evenings  with  Romanists:" 

"The  illegitimate  births,"  says  Mr.  Seymour,  "in 
Roman  Catholic  Paris  is  thirty-three  per  cent ;  in  Ro- 
man Catholic  Brussels,  thirty-five  per  cent;  Roman 
Catholic  Munich,  forty-eight  per  cent ;  Roman  Catholic 
Vienna,  fifty-one  per  cent;  Protestant  London,  four  per 
cent.  Dublin,  the  most  populous  and  wealthy  city  in 
Ireland,  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
population,  has  more  prostitutes  than  any  city  of  its 
size  in  the  three  kingdoms.  A  comparison  of  ten 
leading  cities  in  Protestant  England  with  a  like  num- 
ber in  Catholic  Austria,  gives  to  the  former  an  average 
of  63  illegitimates  out  of  every  thousand  births ;  to 
the  latter  an  average  of  419  in  the  thousand.  Five 
leading  English  cities  being  compared  with  five  prin- 
cipal cities  of  Italy,  it  appears  in  the  former  that  on 
an  average  58  births  in  a  thousand  are  illegitimate  ;  in 
the  latter,  216  out  of  a  thousand  are  illegitimate.  Ten 
of  the  most  populous  cities  respectively  of  Protestant 
Prussia  and  Roman  Catholic  Austria  being  compared, 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

the  number  of  illegitimate  births  in  the  former  is  158 
to  the  thousand ;  in  the  latter,  454  to  the  thousand." 
These  statistics,  at  the  time,  were  so  overwhelming 
and  astounding  that  the  Catholic  World  openly  ac- 
knowledged that  Mr.  Seymour's  conclusions,  "if  fairly 
proved,  would  be  a  practical  argument  of  overwhelm- 
ing force,  sufficient  to  close  the  mind  against  all  that 
can  be  said  in  favor  of  the  Catholic  Church." 

Dr.  I/.  R.  Dunn  is  responsible  for  the  following 
statement:  "Only  a  few  weeks  ago  a  delegate  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Benevolent  L,egion  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.  (it  was  Vice-President  Keeney,  of  Brook- 
lyn), said:  'The  time  is  coming  when  we  Catholics 
shall  own  the  land ;  and  when  we  shall  not  only  own 
it,  but  ought  to  own  it.  We  shall  own  the  land  to 
control  it,  and  we  shall  control  it  for  its  better  govern- 
ment.' An  intelligent  minister  of  our  Church  related 
the  following  in  my  hearing  a  few  days  ago.  He  was 
recently  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  and  going  into  the  cathe- 
dral there  on  the  Sabbath,  he  heard  the  priest  from 
his  pulpit  say  that  America,  with  all  its  wealth  and 
power,  would  soon  be*  under  the  control  of  mother 
Church.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  every  Patrick 
in  our  stables  and  every  Bridget  in  our  kitchens  has 
the  same  idea.  And  more  than  this,  there  is  not, 
probably,  a  Romish  priest  in  the  world  but  that  en- 
tertains this  hope." 

Romanist  statisticians  claim  a  population  in  this 
country  of  some  eight  or  ten  millions  of  souls;  but 
aside  from  the  votes  cast  by  the  adults  and  the  crimes 
they  may  commit,  the  larger  proportion  of  them  would 
be  of  but  little  consequence  in  any  way.  The  records 
of  poor-houses  and  prisons  and  the  gallows  show  that 
at  best  they  are  a  burden  to  society.  Beyond  this, 


1 6  INTRODUCTION. 

were  it  not  for  the  intrigues  of  political  Jesuit  priests, 
they  would  do  but  little  harm. 

It  would  seem  that  Methodism  has  awakened  not 
only  large  expectations  in  regard  to  the  general  wel- 
fare of  the  country,  but  that,  in  the  public  mind,  it  is 
looked  to  as  the  divinely  appointed  agency  to  neutral- 
ize the  power  and  counteract  the  evils  of  Romanism. 
Dr.  J.  L-  Withrow,  a  Presbyterian,  of  Chicago,  writes 
as  follows  to  a  Boston  paper : 

"Look  into  the  large  assembly-room,  in  Methodist 
Block,  on  Monday  morning,  and  one  sees  the  largest 
ministers'  meeting  that  assembles  in  the  city.  And, 
just  as  in  other  cities,  these  Methodist  ministers  gen- 
erally tussle  with  some  large  and  live  issue  of  a  prac- 
tical sort.  They  are  not  wont  to  waste  time  in  dis- 
cussing the  thisly  of  the  thusly.  They  spend  little 
strength  on  men  of  straw.  But  whether  the  rum- 
power  is  a  powerful  and  insolent  foe  to  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  people,  they  are  always  ready  to  bear 
testimony ;  and  their  eyes  are  not  holden  to  see  the 
stupendous  strides  of  progress  which  the  Roman 
Catholic  hierarchy  is  making 'toward  complete  man- 
agement in  our  political  affairs — and  the  Methodist 
brethren  have  lips  to  speak  and  warn  the  people. 
Let  the  papacy  make  proportionately  rapid  progress 
in  directing  political  affairs  in  the  next  two  decades 
as  she  has  done  in  the  last  two,  and  in  the  opening  of 
the  twentieth  century  every  city  in  the  United  States 
will  be  ruled  from  the  Vatican.  Again  and  again  the 
note  of  warning,  of  this  danger  to  our  liberties,  is 
sounded  by  the  Methodists  of  Chicago." 

What  signifies  the  alliance  of  the  Protestant  and 
Jewish  forces  in  Washington  City  to  aid  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  in  the  establishment  of  a  first- 


INTRO  D  UCTION.  1 7 

class  university  at  the  seat  of  government  ?  Is  it  to 
counteract  the  more  effectually  the  influence  of  the 
pope  and  his  cardinals  over  the  rulers  of  the  Nation  ? 
Have  they  been  mortified  to  see  the  President  of  the 
United  States  tamely  submit  to  be  treated  as  second 
to  the  pope  and  to  a  Canadian  cardinal  at  a  Catholic 
banquet?  Is  it  a  united  movement  on  the  part  of 
loyal  citizens  against  revived  Jesuitism,  with  Method- 
ism in  the  lead  ?  So  it  would  seem,  and  the  reasons 
for  this  confidence  should  be  clear  and  satisfactory. 

The  question,  What  is  Methodism  that  it  has 
awakened  such  expectations  in  regard  to  the  general 
interests  of  the  Nation,  and  to  the  neutralization  of 
Romanism  in  particular?  remains  unanswered.  The 
practical  relations  and  mission  of  this  Church  seem  to 
be  sufficiently  manifest,  but  the  primal  and  deeper 
question  refers  to  the  position  it  holds  in  the  order  of 
Providence.  In  our  philosophy,  has  the  Divine  pur- 
pose been  discovered  and  properly  interpreted? 

A  yes  or  no  answer  can  not,  with  any  satisfaction, 
be  given  to  this  question.  We  must  look  into  the  or- 
igin of  this  great  movement.  We  must  see  Method- 
ism in  the  mustard- seed  stage  of  its  development;  we 
must  detect  the  place  of  the  hiding  of  God's  power; 
we  must  see  in  action  the  agencies  employed,  and  fol- 
low out  causes  to  their  practical  results.  It  will  be 
well  to  approach  this  subject  in  the  spirit  of  doubting 
criticism ;  for  if  Methodism  is  the  power  in  the  world 
which  both  friends  and  foes  have  taken  it  to  be,  an 
array  of  facts  can  be  brought  forward  which  will  jus- 
tify the  conclusions  we  draw. 

If  the  presentation  of  this  subject  will  tend  to  im- 
press upon  Methodist  people  a  proper  idea  of  their 
honors,  duties,  and  responsibilities,  our  intention  in 


1 8  INTRODUCTION. 

writing  will  have  been  accomplished.  Methodism  has 
been  a  maker  of  history,  and  only  fragments  of  it  will 
be  known  except  to  students  and  statesmen.  The 
fundamental  elements  of  that  history  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  weave  into  an  argument,  and  at  the  same  time 
retain  their  life  and  spirit.  On  entering  the  second 
century  of  its  existence,  the  Church  found  itself  in  a 
transition  state,  and  it  is  still  engaged  in  the  work  of 
adjusting  itself  to  the  new  conditions  of  the  country. 
She  must  cut  loose  from  her  primitive  moorings,  and, 
without  drifting,  lengthen  her  lines  and  spread  her 
sails  on  other  and  perhaps  stormier  seas.  A  changed 
country  calls  for  new  agencies,  new  methods,  and  new 
work.  For  the  Church  to  remain  stationary  in  a  new 
and  ever-changing  country,  is  to  loose  its  hold  upon 
the  people,  become  fossilized,  and  fail  of  its  mission- 
We  have  an  abiding  faith  in  the  continued  pros, 
perity  of  the  Church.  The  signs  of  the  times  are 
propitious.  New  men  are  pressing  into  the  ranks, 
desertions  are  less  frequent,  and  old  men  are  fired 
with  the  ambition  of  youth.  Women,  in  line  of  ac- 
tion, are  coming  to  the  front — a  mighty  re-enforcement. 
The  eyes  of  the  true  Seer  are  shedding  no  tears  over 
the  departing  glories  of  the  past,  but  peering  into  a 
yet  mightier  future.  The  twentieth  century  must  see 
Methodism  moving  forward  with  giant  strides  both  at 
home  and  abroad.  The  expectations  of  statesmen 
and  sister  Churches  will  not  be  disappointed.  Ice- 
bergs floating  into  southern  seas  melt  and  mingle 
with  the  mass;  and  in  the  hot  and  all-pervading 
breath  of  Methodism,  Romanism  must  become  Amer- 
icanized, or  the  Nation  will  spew  it  out  of  its  mouth. 


"(31  S  for  the  English  court,  Bishop  Stevens  said:  'It  was  a 
&  royal  brothel.'  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  said  to  Boswell:  'I 
remember  the  time  when  it  was  common  for  English  gentle- 
men to  go  to  bed  drunk  every  night  in  the  week,  and  they 
were  thought  to  be  none  the  worse  for  it.'  Delicate  young 
women,  in  the  highest  circles,  unblushingly  talked  '  with  a 
coarseness  which  editors  of  our  day  represent  by  asterisks.' 
Such  vile  poetry  as  was  then  applauded  would  forever  damn 
modern  poetasters.  The  people  laughed  at  indecency  and 
profanity.  The  Churches  afforded  no  relief  to  the  dark  pic- 
ture, for  the  reformers  themselves  needed  to  be  reformed. 
Of  the  clergy  of  the  Established  Church,  what  shall  we  say, 
but  that  they  were  involved  in  the  general  corruption  ?  Those 
of  the  Dissenting  Churches  were  little  better." 

20  — DO-RCHKSTKH. 


THE  REPUBLIC 

METHODISM, 


CHAPTER  I. 

METHODISM    A   SPECIAL   DISPENSATION   OF   SPIRIT- 
UAL POWER. 

METHODISM  is  an  original  idea — it  is  sui 
generis.  The  peculiarities  which  marked 
its  beginning  have  deepened  with  its  development. 
They  have  challenged  alike  the  attention  of  the 
ecclesiastics  and  the  philosophers  of  two  continents. 
As  a  proclamation  of  the  Christian  system  it  is 
apostolic,  especially  in  its  aggressive  evangelizing 
vigor. 

On  its  human  side,  Methodism  began  in  an 
impulse,  an  idea,  and  a  conviction.  In  the  ab- 
sence of  form,  plan,  or  device,  it  was  free  to  act 
out  the  laws  of  its  own  being.  Consequently  it 
was  a  spontaneous  growth  from  an  original  root; 
and  possessing,  as  it  does,  the  fullness  of  Church 
power,  that  root  must  be  of  divine  origin.  The 
achievements  of  Methodism,  as  they  will  appear 
in  these  pages,  force  the  mind  to  this  conclusion. 

In  making  these  bold  assumptions  for  Meth- 
odism, we  are  fully  aware  that  the  charge  of  pre- 


22  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

sumption  will  be  preferred  against  us,  unless  they 
are  vindicated  by  considerations  of  equal  impor- 
tance. The  accumulated  facts  which  make  up  its 
history  during  the  past  one  hundred  and  twenty 
years,  as  the  legitimate  interpreters  of  Divine 
Providence,  teach  us  that  Methodism  must  be  re- 
garded as  the  religious  marvel — if  not  miracle — 
of  this  nineteenth  century.  The  age  in  which  we 
live  has  been  distinguished  by  many  great  and 
stirring  events,  and  among  the  most  conspicuous 
of  these  is  the  spread  of  Christianity  in  the 
United  States  under  the  banner  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

It  is  fortunate  for  religious  truth  that  the  muse 
of  history  has  most  fully  and  faithfully  preserved 
the  annals  of  this  great  movement.  Besides  the 
elaborate  histories  of  Bangs,  Stevens,  Daniels, 
and  McTyeire,  the  literature  of  the  Church  is 
rich  in  sketches,  monographs,  and  biographies  of 
its  great  men.  The  origin  and  progress  of  Meth- 
odism in  this  Nation  can  therefore  be  examined 
in  the  presence  of  accomplished  facts,  and  it  is 
in  this  white  light  that  our  dull  visions  can  see 
the  most  clearly  the  unfoldings  of  a  Heavenly 
Providence.  To  these,  then,  we  make  our  ap- 
peal as  the  basis  of  the  judgment  we  form  of  the 
genius  and  mission  of  Methodism. 

We  are  not  aware  that  this  last  and  greatest 
religious  movement  was  particularly  designated 
by  either  Jewish  prophets  or  Christian  apostles ; 
yet  such  may  have  been  the  case — possibly  it  is 


A  SPECIAL  DISPENSATION.  23 

the  angel  of  the  Apocalypse,  which  was  seen  fly- 
ing through  the  midst  of  the  heavens,  having  the 
everlasting  gospel  to  preach  to  all  them  that  dwell 
on  the  face  of  the  earth ;  but  be  this  as  it  may, 
we  are  sure  that  the  place  it  occupies  in  the 
economy  of  grace,  and  the  specific  work  assigned 
to  it,  can  unmistakably  be  defined  in  Scripture 
language.  It  is  an  old  and  trite  saying  that  Meth- 
odism is  a  child  of  Providence;  and  it  is  time  our 
conceptions  of  the  specific  place  it  occupies,  and 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  work  it  has  to  do, 
as  ordered  by  Providence,  were  more  clearly  un- 
derstood. 

Let  us  consider  the  following  Scripture,  found 
in  the  seventeenth  verse  of  the  ninth  chapter  of 
St.  Matthew's  Gospel:  "Neither  do  men  put  new 
wine  into  old  bottles,  else  the  bottles  break  and 
the  wine  runneth  out  and  the  bottles  perish ;  but 
they  put  new  wine  into  new  bottles,  and  both  are 
preserved."  The  bottles  in  question  were  made 
of  the  skins  of  animals,  and  the  fermenting  of 
new  wine  would  spoil  an  old,  unyielding  bottle; 
whereas,  if  new  wine  were  put  into  a  new  bottle, 
the  wine  and  bottle  would  adjust  themselves  to 
each  other,  and  both  be  preserved.  The  principle 
involved  finds  its  first  illustration  in  Christ's  re- 
fusal to  identify  himself  or  his  teaching  with  any 
of  the  old  religious  sects  of  the  Jews,  or  even 
with  the  Mosaic  Institutes.  These  corporate 
bodies  were  formed  for  other  ends ;  they  had 
served  their  purposes,  and  were  "ready  to  vanish 


24  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

away;"  whererc  the  teaching  of  Christ  was  the 
new  wine  of  the  new  kingdom  he  came  to  estab- 
lish. Like  the  dead  husks  on  the  ears  of  corn  in 
autumn,  Judaism  had  done  its  work,  and  was  no 
longer  of  any  use  in  the  world.  At  least  it 
was  utterly  incompetent  to  take  in  charge  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  In  the  hands  of  a  Pharisee  the 
gospel  would  have  been  made  to  subserve  simply 
the  interests  of  his  sect;  a  Sadducee  would  have 
reduced  it  to  the  narrow  dimensions  of  the  wants 
of  his  party;  and  in  either  case,  it  would  have 
ceased  to  be  the  gospel  of  Christ — the  common 
patrimony  of  the  whole  world. 

As,  therefore,  on  the  principle  that  new  wine 
demands  a  new  bottle,  it  was  necessary  for  Christ 
to  found  a  new  age,  "set  up"  a  new  kingdom, 
and  establish  a  new  reign,  as  the  receptacle  of 
the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  he  brought  to 
all  people.  That  which  Christ  so  elaborately  il- 
lustrates is  the  simple  principle  of  adaptation — 
the  adaptation  of  adequate  means  to  a  desired 
end.  The  old  bottles  rilled  with  old  wine  repre- 
sented Mosaism  in  all  its  real  and  possible 
forms.  Judaism  was  full  to  the  brim — and  mostly 
of  iniquity — and  it  could  hold  no  more.  So  fixed 
and  unchangeable  was  its  character  that  the  only 
possible  doom  that  fitted  the  case  was  destruction. 
Christ  therefore  had  no  use  for  it,  and  he  taught 
his  disciples  to  pray,  "Thy  kingdom  come." 

The  principle  of  adaptation  is  as  important 
and  as  operative  now  as  ever  in  the  past,  and  the 


A  SPECIAL  DISPENSATION.  25 

question  before  us  is  simply  this:  B*id  its  demands 
of  the  world  bring  Methodism  into  existence? 
In  particular,  is  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States  as  "new  wine  in  a  new  bot- 
tle?" This  question  must  be  answered,  not  by 
theoretic  speculation  nor  by  argument  of  any 
kind,  but  by  an  examination  of  all  the  facts  in- 
volved in  the  case  in  the  light  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures.  If,  with  the  principle  of  adaptation 
as  our  guide,  we  are  irresistibly  led  to  the  con- 
clusion that  a  new  Church  was  raised  up  in  a  new 
Nation,  to  preserve  it  and  be  preserved  by  it,  too 
much  importance  can  not  be  attached  to  its  privi- 
leges, honors,  and  responsibilities.  Such  is  our 
conception  of  Methodism.  What  the  new  wine 
and  new  bottle  are  to  each  other,  Methodism  and 
this  Nation  are  to  each  other.  Peculiarities  per- 
tain to  both  the  new  Nation  and  new  Church, 
and  in  these  respects  they  are  exactly  adapted  to 
each  other's  wants. 

This  principle  of  adaptation  finds  at  the  pres- 
ent time  an  application  in  Japan  and  Mexico. 
These  nations  are  springing  into  a  new  life,  and 
Romanism  fails  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  people 
in  the  one  country,  and  Buddhism  has  become 
stale  and  unprofitable  in  the  other.  New  bottles 
demand  new  wine  for  their  preservation.  Chris- 
tianity, introduced  in  a  form  suited  to  the  condi- 
tion of  the  people  to  be  benefited,  is  sure  to  receive 
a  hearty  welcome.  Learned  Hindus  complain 
that  Western  missionaries  have  stripped  Christ 

3 


26  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

too  much  of  his  Oriental  character,  and  presented 
him  to  them  mostly  in  a  European  garb.  We 
think  it  quite  likely  that  such  mistakes  have  been 
made — indeed  they  were  inevitable. "  To  become  a 
Christian,  an  Orientalist  need  not  become  an  Occi- 
dentalist.  Any  attempt  to  transfer  a  Church  or- 
ganization from  one  country  to  another,  or  change 
the  spirit  of  a  people  or  the  times  in  which  they 
live,  would  be  a  waste  of  money  and  strength.  In 
the  gospel  there  is  a  power  of  adaptation  which 
adjusts  its  demands  as  well  as  blessings  to  the 
peculiarities  of  different  times  and  of  all  nation- 
alities— to  become  all  things  to  all  men.  It  is 
inevitable  that  Church  and  State,  without  a  formal 
union,  should  mutually  affect  each  other,  and  each 
preserve  the  other. 

America  became  known  to  Europe  in  1492, 
and  it  was  evident  to  the  vision  of  the  statesman- 
like seer  of  that  age  that  this  continent  was  pre- 
determined to  be  the  seat  of  a  vast  and  powerful 
empire,  unlike  any  that  then  existed  or  that  had 
ever  gone  before.  The  new  conditions  would 
bring  about  new  results  of  a  corresponding  char- 
acter. Old  customs,  laws,  and  standards  would 
disappear  in  the  presence  of  a  new  world.  The 
genius  of  the  new  age,  in  accordance  with  the  law 
of  corelation,  would  demand  that  everything  be 
new.  The  new  nation  would  be  a  vital  growth, 
and  mechanical  patchwork  was  ruled  out  of  the 
method  of  its  development.  The  principle  in- 
volved in  the  statement  that  a  new  bottle  demands 


A  SPECIAL  DISPENSATION.  27 

new  wine  is  fundamental,  and  can  not  be  violated 
with  impunity.  With  God  at  the  helm  of  State, 
we  may  expect  to  see  it  carried  into  effect  to  the 
very  letter.  Has  it  not  been  done  in  this  Nation? 
We  shall  see. 

As  all  the  Churches  in  existence  at  the  time 
we  became  a  new  and  peculiar  Nation  were  cast 
in  a  European  mold,  they  were  not  suited  to  the 
peculiar  wants  of  the  people.  They  had  been 
touched  by  no  experience  which  was  analogous  to 
the  birth-throes  the  State  had  experienced  during 
the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Born  on  a  foreign 
soil,  and  baptized  in  the  spirit  of  another  age,  they 
were  not  adapted  to  the  condition  of  the  young 
Republic.  To  be  successful  in  any  country,  Chris- 
tianity must  experience  on  its  soil  and  among  its 
people  a  special  development,  and  put  forth  special 
power  adapted  to  the  new  and  strange  conditions 
of  society.  By  the  order  of  Providence,  and  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  this  is  ex- 
actly what  has  been  done  in  this  country  under 
the  banner  of  Methodism.  Methodism  is  the  new 
conservative  power  given  by  a  special  Providence 
to  preserve  the  Nation  in  which  it  is  to  be  pre- 
served. 

We  boldly  assume  for  Methodism  this  com- 
manding position,  fully  aware  that,  if  the  array 
of  facts  we  may  bring  to  its  support  are  inade- 
quate, we  shall  expose  ourselves  to  censure  if  not 
contempt;  but  if  our  conceptions  of  the  relation 
of  Methodism  to  the  great  Republic  be  correct, 


28  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

even  in  its  leading  features,  the  importance  of  the 
subject  will  justify  us  in  hazarding  something  in 
giving  to  them  publicity  and  support.  The  relig- 
ious element  in  the  Jewish  State  was  of  command- 
ing importance;  but  in  proportion  as  Christianity 
surpasses  Judaism,  its  inspiring  and  molding 
power  in  this  Nation  has  been  still  greater. 

Our  claim  for  Methodism  does  not  in  the  least 
detract  from  the  credit  which  is  justly  due  to  the 
influence  of  other  Churches,  nor  does  it  call  for 
any  union  of  Church  and  State.  It  is  not  in  our 
heart,  as  we  write,  to  glorify  Methodism,  but  to 
help  the  Church  to  a  better  understanding  of  the 
position  assigned  it  by  Providence,  and  the  re- 
sponsibilities imposed  upon  its  adherents.  The 
principle  involved  in  the  relation  of  the  new  wine 
and  the  new  bottle,  and  the  old  wine  and  the  old 
bottle,  we  accept  as  fundamental,  and  seek  to 
apply  it. 

But  at  this  stage  of  the  discussion  it  is  of  the 
first  importance  that  we  inquire,  What  is  Meth- 
odism? We  answer  affirmatively:  It  is  the  old 
gospel  of  St.  Paul — salvation  from  spiritual  death 
and  from  the  guilt  of  sin  through  faith  in  Christ. 
It  is  the  grace  of  God  that  brings  the  forgiveness 
of  sin  to  the  soul,  and  the  witness  of  the  Spirit 
that  this  work  has  been  done.  The  all-pervading 
element  of  Methodism  is  spirituality.  It  recog- 
nizes the  fact  that  man  is  lost,  being  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins,  and  that  the  quickening  Spirit  is 
given  that  he  may  live.  It  is  not,  then,  a  creed, 


A  SPECIAL  DISPENSATION.  29 

nor  a  confession  of  faith,  nor  a  catechism,  "long" 
or  "short,"  yet  its  doctrines  are  most  clearly  de- 
fined. It  is  not  a  science  nor  a  system  of  theol- 
ogy. It,  per  se,  may  exist  wholly  independent  of 
the  ecclesiastical  element.  It  is  enjoyed,  prima- 
rily, in  the  relation  a  justified  soul  sustains  to 
God.  When  Robert  Strawbridge,  a  young  Irish 
local  preacher,  commenced  his  labors  on  Sam's 
Creek,  Maryland,  preaching  probably  the  first 
Methodist  sermon  ever  delivered  in  America,  he 
stood  alone  as  a  man,  with  the  Bible  before  him, 
and  no  Church  authority  behind  him  but  that  of 
the  Master.  He  had  found  in  his  native  country 
the  pure  element  of  Methodism,  and  it  had  be- 
come in  his  being  an  all-controlling  force.  His 
ceaseless  labors  among  the  rude  and  scattered 
population  of  this  country,  the  societies  he  organ- 
ized as  the  result  of  the  great  number  of  souls 
that  were  converted  under  his  labors,  the  log 
church  he  built,  the  holy  lives  and  the  triumphant 
death  of  his  people,  were  simply  the  spontaneous 
and  outward  manifestations  of  the  Methodist  spirit 
and  life  and  fire  which  he  and  they  had  received 
from  on  high.  Having  resisted  mobs  and  braved 
death  in  his  own  country,  this  tender  and  gentle- 
spirited  man  found  the  open  and  ripe  fields  of 
labor  in  this  new  world  a  theater  of  supreme  de- 
light. He  was  what  Methodism  had  made  him. 
The  same  remark  might  be  made  of  Whitefield, 
the  Wesleys,  Coke,  Fletcher,  Lady  Huntingdon, 
L/ady  Maxwell,  Asbury,  and  the  millions  who, 


30  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

through  their  labors,  have  been  led  to  drink  from 
the  same  spiritual  fountain.  Christianity,  in  the 
form  of  Methodism,  had  done  for  them  what  in 
the  beginning  it  did  for  Paul  and  others. 

We  sometimes  hear  it  said  that  Methodism  has 
been  fortunate  in  receiving  the  support  of  great 
men;  but  the  statement  is  seen  to  possess  but  lit- 
tle force  when  we  reflect  that  no  Methodist  could 
ever  do  more  than  act  out  in  his  life  the  grace 
which  had  been  imparted  to  him.  At  first  the 
scholarly  Wesley  was  an  ordinary  man,  and  his 
well-tried  powers  could  accomplish  nothing  till 
the  baptism  of  Methodism  came  upon  him,  and 
he  felt  that  his  soul  was  strangely  warmed  by  its 
fires.  After  this,  his  knowledge  of  God,  as  re- 
vealed in  the  salvation  of  his  own  soul,  gave  him 
the  key  to  other  sauls,  and  made  him  the  marvel- 
ous man  that  he  was.  The  outward  dress  or  form 
that  Methodism  may  take  on  is  not,  therefore,  a 
matter  of  prime  importance.  The  inward  spir- 
itual life  is  the  essential  element.  Chalmers  said : 
"  Methodism  is  Christianity  in  earnest."  We  would 
say  it  is  Christianity  pure  and  simple ;  for  all  real 
Christianity  is  in  earnest.  If  we  have  detected 
its  proper  place  in  the  order  of  a  Heavenly  Prov- 
idence, so  far  as  this  Republic  is  concerned — as 
"new  wine  in  a  new  bottle" — the  fact  will  be 
better  understood  a  thousand  years  hence  than 
now  ;  but  the  prophetic  Wesley  very  properly  in- 
dicated its  scope  and  significance  when  he  said, 
"The  world  is  my  parish." 


A  SPECIAL  DISPENSATION.  31 

When  we  think  of  the  divine  original  of  Meth- 
odism, the  depth  of  its  spirit,  and  of  its  all-pervad- 
ing power,  we  feel  sure  that  it  has  not,  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  received  in  any  nation  a  full  and  perfect 
expression  of  its  peculiar  genius.  To  what  ex- 
tent Wesley  and  all  English  Methodists,  preachers 
and  people,  have  been  influenced  by  an  overshad- 
owing State  Church  it  is  impossible  to  say;  but 
our  conviction  is  clear  that  we  can  not  look  to 
the  mother  Church — the  Wesleyans — nor  to  any 
of  the  unfortunate  offshoots  from  the  parent  body, 
for  a  model  expression  of  Methodism.  In  Eng- 
land it  has  lived  too  near  and  too  much  under 
the  shadow  of  an  immense  and  obnoxious  hie- 
rarchy to  receive  in  all  respects  a  natural  develop- 
ment. That  spontaneity  of  action  which  knows 
no  law  but  a  vital  inward  developing  power,  has 
been  wanting  to  the  highest  achievements  in  its 
action. 

Probably  in  no  country  has  the  true  and  pure 
genius  of  Methodism  found  a  more  free  and 
healthy  development  than  in  the  United  States ; 
but  even  here  the  "clay  was  marred  in  the  hands 
of  the  potter,"  resulting  in  various  secessions.  In 
some  localities  its  natural  methods  have  been 
modified  by  contact  with  other  Churches.  At 
the  General  Conference,  held  in  Boston  in  1852, 
Peter  Cartwright,  a  typical  Western  man,  was  re- 
garded as  an  interesting  curiosity;  and  New  Eng- 
land Methodism,  transferred  in  form  to  Iowa, 
might,  at  first  sight,  be  innocently  mistaken  for 


32  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

Congregationalism.  Some  people  are  necessarily 
imitators,  and  they  look  upon  an  original  idea  as 
if  it  were  an  intrusive  antagonist.  Whatever 
such  persons  find  in  Methodism  that  is  unique 
they  strive  to  obliterate.  For  the  realization  of 
our  hopes  in  regard  to  the  development  of  a  pure 
Methodistic  expression  of  Christianity  we  must 
look  to  foreign  fields — China,  Japan,  or  India.  In 
those  countries  the  Methodist  people  will  ever  be 
so  far  removed  from  Mohammedanism  and  all 
forms  of  heathenism  that  they  are  not  likely  to 
be  influenced  in  any  way  by  them ;  hence  the 
growth  of  the  Church  in  each  country  may  be 
natural  and  for  the  best. 

In  seeing  Methodism  take  on  the  form  of  an 
ecclesiastical  structure,  there  is  danger  that  we 
may  lose  sight  of  its  inward  spiritual  life.  If  we 
keep  in  mind  what  Methodism  is  per  se,  its  aim 
and  end — the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  the  awak- 
ening of  sinners,  the  conversion  of  souls,  and  the 
best  methods  of  accomplishing  these  results — 
Church  legislation  will  mostly  be  the  spontaneous 
outgrowth  of  the  demands  of  the  work ;  it  will  be 
valuable  only  as  means  to  an  end.  Addressing  a 
class  of  elders  who  were  about  to  be  admitted  to 
membership  in  an  Annual  Conference,  the  bishop 
presiding,  referring  to  the  unfortunate,  as  we 
think,  change  which  had  taken  place  in  his  min- 
istry, said :  "  In  former  years,  when  I  was  a  pas- 
tor in  the  Church,  I  kept  in  mind  not  only  the 
care  of  my  flock,  but  in  nearly  every  sermon  I 


A  SPECIAL  DISPENSATION.  33 

warned  sinners  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come." 
This  and  other  remarks  indicated  that  the  bishop 
felt  that  his  high  office  had  released  him  from  the 
responsibilities  of  revival  work;  that  the  conver- 
sion of  souls  was  no  part  of  his  direct,  personal 
business.  If  such  be  the  inevitable  tendencies  of 
the  episcopal  office,  it  should,  without  delay,  be 
abolished.  To  the  end  of  his  life  Asbury  was  a 
genuine  Methodist;  and  if,  in  addition  to  his  epis- 
copal functions,  he  had  been  editor,  agent,  and 
secretary,  he  would  never  have  lost  sight  of  the 
work  of  the  awakening  and  conversion  of  sinners. 
In  proportion  as  a  man  grows  away  from  this 
work,  and  becomes  lost  or  absorbed  in  an  official 
position,  he  ceases  to  be  a  pure  Methodist. 

"Building  up"  the  Church  is  a  matter  of 
prime  importance,  but  it  is  done  the  most  easily 
and  effectually  when  we  have  in  hand  an  abun- 
dance of  new-born  souls,  as  lively  stones,  to  work 
into  the  edifice.  The  genuine  Methodist,  then,  is 
one  who  knows,  by  actual  test,  that  the  gospel  is 
the  power  of  God  unto  the  salvation  of  .every  one 
that  believeth ;  and  be  his  position  high  or  low, 
he  links  his  own  salvation,  not  with  an  office,  but 
with  the  salvation  of  others. 

It  was  the  preaching  of  this  doctrine  which, 
more  than  all  others,  brought  upon. the  Wesleys 
and  their  coadjutors  the  remorseless  persecutions 
they  were  called  upon  to  suffer.  A  cold,  formal 
ritualism  stood  aghast  and  angry  in  the  presence 
of  a  spiritual  and  soul-saving  Christianity  it  did 


34  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

not  enjoy.  It  was  regarded  as  a  dreadful,  if  not 
blasphemous,  doctrine  to  be  preached  that  a  man 
could  know  that  his  soul  was  regenerated  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  and  that  he  was  adopted  into  the 
heavenly  family. 

But  this  was  exactly  the  preaching  the  world 
needed  at  that  time — the  preaching  it  must  al- 
ways have  to  preserve  among  men  even  the  form 
and  name  of  Christianity.  This  was  the  lost  doc- 
trine which,  in  the  form  and  by  the  name  of  Meth- 
odism, these  men  restored  to  the  Church  and  the 
world.  All  the  testimonies  go  to  prove  that  the 
religious  condition  of  England,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  was  deplorable  to  the 
last  degree.  In  the  absence  of  a  spiritual  and 
soul-saving  Christianity,  wickedness  everywhere 
abounded.  All  the  way  from  the  throne  to  the 
gutter  the  same  ungodliness  prevailed.  Infidelity 
held  sway  over  the  upper  classes,  and  the  masses 
were  rapidly  receding  into  heathenism.  Of  the 
abundance  of  testimony  we  have  on  this  point  the 
reader  will  be  troubled  with  but  a  few  items.  In 
the  preface  to  his  great  work,  the  "Analogy  of 
Nature  and  Religion,"  Bishop  Butler  says:  "It 
has  come  to  be  taken  for  granted  that  Christianity 
is  no  longer  a  subject  of  inquiry,  but  that  it  is 
now  at  length  discovered  to  be  fictitious.  And 
accordingly  it  is  treated  as  if,  in  the  present  age, 
this  were  an  agreed  point  among  all  persons  of 
discernment,  and  nothing  remained  but  to  set  it 
up  as  a  principal  subject  of  mirth  and  ridicule." 


A  SPECIAL  DISPENSATION.  35 

Isaac  Taylor  loved  Methodism  no  more  than 
he  was  compelled  to  by  his  self-respect,  and  in 
speaking  of  the  Church  of  England  as  it  existed 
when  the  Wesleys  appeared,  he  says:  "It  was  an 
ecclesiastical  system  under  which  the  people  of 
England  had  lapsed  into  heathenism,  or  a  state 
hardly  to  be  distinguished  from  it." 

"What,"  inquires  Mr.  Wesley,  in  one  of  his 
sermons,  "is  the  present  character  of  the  English 
nation?  It  is  ungodliness.  Ungodliness  is  our 
universal,  our  constant,  our  peculiar,  character." 
Bishop  Burnet  saw  the  decay  of  religion,  and  it 
gave  him  the  greatest  anxiety,  and  day  and  night, 
he  says,  he  "was  oppressed  with  sad  thoughts;" 
but  he  was  powerless  to  render  any  assistance. 
He  said:  "I  can  not  look  on  without  the  deepest 
concern,  when  I  see  the  imminent  ruin  hanging 
over  the  Church,  and  by  consequence,  over  the 
whole  Reformation."  Another  says:  "All  that  is 
restrictively  Christian,  or  that  is  peculiar  to  Christ, 
is  waived  and  banished  and  despised."  Bishop 
Burnet  thus  characterizes  the  greater  part  of 
those  who  came  to  him  for  ordination:  "They 
had  never  read  the  Scriptures,  and  could  give  no 
tolerable  account  of  the  Catechism.  A  general 
decay  of  vital  religion  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of 
men,"  and  a  "declension  of  piety  and  virtue  among 
Dissenters  as  well  as  Churchmen,"  is  the  testimony 
of  all  the  writers  of  that  age. 

In  his  Journal,  dated  September  3,  1739,  Mr. 
Wesley  incidentally  draws  a  picture  of  the  spirit- 


36  O  UR  CO  UNTR  Y  AND  ME  THODISM. 

ual  condition  of  England  that  can  not  be  misun- 
derstood:  "I  talked  largely  with  my  mother,  who 
told  me  that,  till  a  short  time  since,  she  had 
scarce  heard  such  a  thing  mentioned  as  the  hav- 
ing forgiveness  of  sins  now,  or  God's  Spirit  bear- 
ing witness  with  our  spirit;  much  less  did  she 
imagine  that  this  was  a  common  privilege  of  all 
true  believers.  'Therefore,'  said  she,  'I  never 
durst  ask  for  it  myself.  But,  two  or  three  weeks 
ago,  while  my  son  Hall  was  pronouncing  the 
words  in  delivering  the  cup  to  me — "The  blood 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  given  for 
thee" — the  words  struck  through  my  heart,  and 
I  knew  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  had  forgiven  me 
all  my  sins.' 

"  I  asked  whether  her  father  (Dr.  Annesley)  had 
not  the  same  faith,  and  whether  she  had  not  heard 
him  preach  it  to  others.  She  answered,  he  had 
it  himself,  and  declared,  a  little  before  his  death, 
that  for  more  than  forty  years  he  had  no  darkness, 
no  fear,  no  doubt  at  all  of  his  being  accepted  of 
the  Beloved;  but  that,  nevertheless,  she  did  not 
remember  to  have  heard  him  preach — no,  not 
once — explicitly  upon  it;  whence  she  supposed  he 
also  looked  upon  it  as  the  peculiar  blessing  of  a 
few,  not  as  promised  to  all  people." 

Here  we  have  the  key  to  the  spiritual  death 
that  was  prevalent  in  both  the  Established  Church 
and  in  all  Dissenting  bodies  of  England.  That 
infidelity  and  all  manner  of  ungodliness  should 
take  the  field,  and  control  society,  was  inevitable. 


A  SPECIAL  DISPENSATION.  37 

Such  was  the  condition  of  England,  Ireland,  and 
Scotland  when  Whitefield  and  the  Wesleys  raised 
the  cry:  "Ye  must  be  born  again."  And  this,  as 
the  vital,  central  truth  of  Christianity,  is  what  the 
world  called  Methodism. 

At  this  time  the  spiritual  and  moral  condition 
of  the  American  colonies  was  about  the  same  as 
that  which  prevailed  in  England.  The  Edwardsian 
revival  had  spent  its  force,  and  a  reaction  had  set 
in.  The  first  enthusiasm  the  preaching  of  White- 
field  kindled  had  all  subsided,  and  his  last  visit  to 
this  country  was  without  results.  Infidelity  and 
profligacy  prevailed  throughout  all  the  Colonies, 
East  as  well  as  South.  In  this  universal  preva- 
lence of  spiritual  death,  in  all  parts  of  the  new- 
born Republic,  the  reason  for  the  existence  of 
Methodism  becomes  apparent. 


"  ijTHE  principles  of  strategic  wisdom  should  lead  us  to  look 
on  these  United  States  as,  first  and  foremost,  the  chosen 
seat  of  enterprise  for  the  world's  conversion.  Forecasting  the 
future  of  Christianity,  as  statesmen  forecast  the  destiny  of 
nations,  we  must  believe  that  it  will  be  what  the  future  of  this 
country  is  to  be.  As  goes  America,  so  goes  the  world,  in  all 
that  is  vital  to  its  moral  welfare."  —AUSTIN 


CHAPTER  II. 

OUR  COUNTRY  AS  THE  THEATER  FOR  THE  DEVEL- 
OPMENT OF  METHODISM. 

r  I  ^HREE  hundred  and  ninety-nine  years  ago 
JL  North  America  was  the  abode  of  savage 
beasts  and  of  still  more  savage  men.  It  is  now 
two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  years  since  civiliza- 
tion secured  a  foothold  north  of  the  Potomac; 
and  may  not  the  past  growth  of  the  country  be 
taken  as  prophetic  that  the  coining  three  hundred 
years  will  witness  still  greater  changes? 

The  isolated  position  and  compact  structure  of 
North  America  will  forever  fix  and  render  un- 
changeable its  geographical  relation  to  other  di- 
visions of  the  globe.  Three  thousand  miles  of 
ocean  on  the  east,  ten  thousand  miles  on  the 
west,  a  narrow  isthmus  on  the  south,  and  a  sea 
of  ice  on  the  north,  make  it  substantially  an 
island;  and  when  held  by  a  single  nation,  its 
neighbors  must  be  too  remote  to  meddle  with 
its  affairs.  Internal  harmony,  civil  administra- 
tion, domestic  peace,  commercial  and  ethnolog- 
ical reasons  point  in  the  direction  of  a  single  na- 
tion, and  these,  as  the  fundamental  laws  of  society, 
must,  at  the  demand  of  all  parties,  ultimately  pre- 
vail. North  America  has  an  area  of  8,953,315 
square  miles,  capable  of  sustaining  a  population 

39 


40  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

of  three  hundred  to  the  square  mile,  or  more  than 
two  billions  of  souls. 

It  is  better  that  Mexico,  with  its  mixture  of 
Spanish  and  Aztec  blood,  remain  a  nation  by  it- 
self till  its  form  of  civilization  shall  become  more 
like  our  own.  It  is  of  the  first  importance  that 
the  population  of  a  country  be  homogeneous,  and 
the  assimilation  of  the  immense  mass  of  hetero- 
geneous elements  now  on  our  shores  is  sufficient 
to  tax  to  the  utmost  the  vital  constitution  of  the 
Nation.  But  nature  has  its  laws,  and  the  demands 
of  these  are  imperative.  They  also  invariably 
work  for  the  greatest  good  of  the  race.  The  high- 
est statesmanship  seeks  to  know  what  they  are, 
and  conform  to  them.  The  Republics  of  Mexico 
and  the  United  States  are  constantly  feeling  the 
pressure  of  each  other's  influence,  and  whatever 
may  be  the  will  of  man,  the  outcome  is  in  the 
hand  of  Providence. 

Protestant  Churches — mostly  those  of  our  own 
country — utterly  ignoring  politics  and  State  af- 
fairs, are  sustaining  missions  in  all  parts  of  that 
country.  Not  only  in  its  chief  cities,  but  espe- 
cially along  the  eastern  and  northern  border,  the 
people  of  the  two  nations  are  becoming  ac- 
quainted and  finding  that  they  have  common  in- 
terests. With  the  desired  prevalence  of  peace, 
this  influence  will  increase  as  the  years  go  by. 
What  the  outcome  may  be  is  beyond  our  ken; 
but  not  unfrequently  in  the  world's  history  two 
adjoining  nations,  to  the  advantage  of  both,  have 


A  FIELD  FOR  METHODISM,  41 

become  one.  We  write  from  the  stand-point  of 
providential  dealings,  and  not  political  ambition. 
We  protest  that  it  would  be  a  national  crime  for 
our  country  to  lift  a  finger  to  bring  about  annex- 
ation by  intrigue  or  force.  Union,  to  be  valuable, 
must  be  the  result  of  growth,  not  rivets. 

The  immense  country  on  the  north,  occupied 
by  our  cousins,  and  the  States  are  subject  to  the 
same  influences  and  the  same  laws.  Neither  can 
think,  or  feel,  or  act  to  perfect  satisfaction  inde- 
pendent of  the  other.  The  ties  of  blood  are 
greatly  strengthened  by  a  free  intercourse  and  the 
use  of  a  common  language,  literature,  and  relig- 
ion. The  feeling  "we  be  brethren"  is  everywhere 
prevalent.  If,  in  the  order  of  Providence,  it  shall 
ever  become  manifest  to  the  two  ruations  that  the 
true  solution  of  all  difficulties,  and  the  attainment 
of  their  highest  good,  moral,  commercial,  and  so- 
cial, can  be  found  only  by  making  them  one  in 
government,  the  union,  to  the  satisfaction  and  in- 
terest of  all  parties,  will  take  place.  A  homo- 
geneous people,  living  in  peace  under  one  gov- 
ernment, reaching  from  the  Isthmus  to  the  North 
Pole,  is  a  dream  which,  in  coining  centuries,  may 
become  real. 

What  a  calamity  would  have  been  the  success 
of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion!  The  establishment 
of  a  Southern  Confederacy  would  have  been  fol- 
lowed by  others — West,  East,  and  Central — and 
the  designs  of  Providence  thwarted.  But  God 
reigns,  and  America  may  yet  fulfill  her  destiny  as 

4 


42  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

the  theater  of  man's  last  effort  to  establish  lib- 
erty on  a  basis  of  intelligence  and  virtue. 

There  are  now  before  us  the  grandest  pros- 
pects that  ever  invited  a  nation  to  greatness. 
Statisticians  tell  us  that  the  State  of  Texas  is  ca- 
pable of  employing  in  business  and  supporting  a 
population  of  fifty  millions,  and  that  then  the  in- 
habitants per  acre  would  not  be  as*  dense  as  the 
population  of  Germany  and  of  most  European 
countries.  It  is  held,  by  good  judges,  that  the 
lumber,  coal,  mining,  and  fishing  interests  of 
Alaska,  together  with  its  commerce,  will  ulti- 
mately be  able  to  give  employment  to  millions  of 
people.  What,  then,  may  we  expect  the  popula- 
tion of  this  country  to  be — the  whole  of  North 
America — two,  three,  or  five  hundred  years  from 
the  present?  It  is  probable  that  the  man  who 
occupies  the  Presidential  chair  in  the  year  2500 
will  find  that  the  census  has  given  him,  as  his 
masters  or  subjects,  as  the  case  may  be,  not  less 
than  ten  hundred  millions  of  souls,  and  yet  there 
would  be  room  for  hundreds  of  millions  more. 
We  may,  then,  expect  that,  as  surely  as  the  sun 
continues  to  rise  and  set  and  the  earth  yield  her 
increase,  this  population  will  be  here,  and  then 
the  agricultural  and  mineral  wealth  of  the  Nation 
will  annually  run  up  into  hundreds  of  billions  of 
dollars. 

North  America,  being  a  country  of  vast  ex- 
tent and  almost  an  island,  embracing  every  zone 
and  producing  nearly  everything  that  grows  out 


A  FIELD  FOR  METHODISM.  43 

of  the  ground,  or  flies  in  trie  air,  or  swims  in  the 
sea,  can  be  self-sufficient,  self-contained,  and  it 
must  be  somewhat  islandic  in  its  laws  and  insti- 
tutions. America  will  not  be  Egypt,  Chaldea, 
Persia,  or  Rome  over  again,  nor  will  it  pattern 
after  any  existing  country ;  but  its  destiny  is  to 
be  wholly  a  new  nation,  unlike  any  other  that 
ever  existed.  Had  it  been  the  will  of  Heaven 
that  England  should  reproduce  herself  here  in 
larger  edition,  then  English  ideas,  the  Episcopal 
hierarchy,  Church  and  State,  would  have  early 
taken  root  and  attained  to  a  vigorous  growth  ;  but 
such  was  not  the  order  of  Providence.  Neither 
was  there  to  be  in  America  a  new  France  or  an- 
other Spain,  with  the  Romish  faith  as  the  legally 
established  religion  ;  but  that  the  Nation  might 
be  thoroughly  new,  everything  in  it  must  be  new. 
Its  Constitution  must  be  an  original  conception, 
its  religion  as  free  as  the  winds  and  as  fresh  as 
the  morning,  its  literature  a  growth  from  its  own 
soil,  and  its  spirit  as  vast  as  the  empire  it  is  to 
animate  and  govern. 

But  on  this  continent  the  human  intellect  is 
likely  to  reach  a  height  of  strength  and  achieve- 
ment such  as  it  has  never  yet  attained.  Why  have 
China,  India,  Japan,  and  the  islands  of  the  sea 
for  many  centuries  deteriorated  or  remained  sta- 
tionary, and  played  so  trifling  a  part  in  the  affairs 
of  the  world?  The  natives  of  Australia  and  many 
other  isolated  peoples  are,  as  the  result  of  some 
cause,  sunk  down  to  the  lowest  condition  of  bar- 


44  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

barism.  On  the  other  hand,  what  made  the  Greek 
Republic  so  great?  Even  to  this  day  the  litera- 
ture which  that  ancient  country  gave  the  world 
constitutes  half  our  learning.  The  names  of 
Homer,  Pheidias,  Pericles,  Socrates,  Plato,  and 
Aristotle  still  hold  their  place  among  the  greatest 
men  in  the  world's  history.  And  what  was  the 
cause  of  the  surpassing  greatness  of  the  Roman 
Empire?  Its  statesmen,  military  captains,  schol- 
ars, poets,  and  orators  were  never  surpassed,  un- 
less by  the  Greeks.  How  has  it  come  to  pass 
that  the  little  island  of  Great  Britain  rules  almost 
one-half  the  globe?  To  answer  these  questions 
correctly,  we  have  only  to  consider  that  China, 
Japan,  India,  and  the  islands  of  the  sea,  from  one 
generation  to  another,  stood  isolated,  alone,  and 
lived  within  themselves ;  whereas  among  the 
States  of  Greece,  the  provinces  of  Rome,  and  the 
British  isles,  there  has  been  a  far-extended  and 
long-continued  mixing  of  many  nations.  The 
present  Englishman  is  a  combination  of  the  best 
blood  of  the  Celt,  the  Angle,  the  Saxon,  the  Nor- 
man, the  native  Briton,  and  probably  of  the  old 
Greek  and  Roman. 

These  facts  clearly  reveal  to  us  an  ethnic  law 
of  the  first  importance ;  and  this  law  never  found 
for  its  operations  a  field  so  wide' and  so  auspicious 
for  great  results  as  the  American  Republic  now 
presents.  The  Aryan  family,  our  ancestors,  first 
established  its  household  a  little  south  of  the  Cau- 
casian Mountains  and  west  of  the  Caspian  Sea. 


A  FIELD  FOR  METHODISM.  45 

From  that  primitive  seat  a  colony — if  Max  Miiller 
is  an  authority — moved  south  into  Iran,  and  built 
up  the  Persian  Empire ;  another  colony  moved 
east,  turned  south,  crossed  the  Himalaya  Mount- 
ains, and  peopled  India,  the  land  of  the  Veda ; 
another  colony  moved  west,  and  founded  the 
Greek  Republic  ;  and  still  another,  at  a  later  date, 
founded  Rome,  and  taught  the  world  the  science 
of  government  and  the  majesty  of  law.  This  was 
the  first  dispersion,  and  as  one  of  the  then  far- 
off  results  we  see  the  present  nations  of  Europe. 
The  Hindu,  the  Englishman,  the  Frenchman,  the 
German,  the  Dane,  the  Spaniard,  the  Portuguese, 
the  Italian,  the  Russian,  the  Swede,  the  Norwe- 
gian, and  the  Icelander  are  the  present  living 
branches  of  the  primitive  Aryan  family.  But 
who  and  what  is  an  American  ?  Is  he  an  Eng- 
glishman?  No.  A  Frenchman?  No.  A  Ger- 
man? No.  An  Irishman?  No.  A  Dane,  Swede, 
or  Norwegian?  No.  What,  then,  is  he?  All 
these  compounded  and  mixed  together.  We  see 
going  on  before  our  eyes  ethnologically  the  for- 
mation of  a  new  race  or  species  of  human  kind. 
The  original  Aryan  blood  was  separated  into 
many  streams  at  an  early  day,  and  one  flowed 
north,  another  south,  another  east,  and  others  west, 
acting  everywhere  a  controlling  part  in  the  affairs 
of  the  world,  and  becoming  stationary  and  stag- 
nant in  no  place  but  the  torrid  plains  of  India. 
During  the  past  three  thousand  five  hundred 
years  this  blood  has  enriched  itself  by  appropri- 


46  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM, 

ating  to  its  own  use  the  best  qualities  of  the  foui 
quarters  of  the  globe — 

"From  Greenland's  icy  mountains 
To  India's  coral  strand  " — 

and  now  these  streams,  swollen  to  rivers,  have  set 
in  toward  the  American  Continent,  and  the  United 
States  is  destined  to  become  the  new  home  of  the 
great  Aryan  family.  Here,  on  our  soil — a  vast 
and  varied  theater — in  the  mixing  of  the  best 
blood  of  the  best  nations,  the  peculiarities  of  each 
will  become  modified,  and  a  new  and  homogene- 
ous people  formed.  In  mental  ability,  and  in  all 
the  forces  which  go  to  compose  a  great  nation, 
this  Republic  is  foreordained  and  foredoomed  to 
surpass  Greece,  Rome,  and  the  British  Empire. 
Had  the  people  of  the  Southern  States  taken  this 
view  of  the  calling  and  destiny  of  America  in 
1860,  the  war  which  cost  that  section  so  dearly 
would  not  have  occurred.  Thoughts  such  as 
these  must  have  been  in  the  mind  of  Emerson 
when  he  said  :  "Our  whole  history  appears  like  a 
last  effort  of  Divine  Providence  in  behalf  of  the 
human  race." 

No  ethnical  truth  is  more  incontestably  estab- 
lished than  the  fact  that  environments,  such  as 
are  afforded  by  country  and  climate,  have  much 
to  do  in  the  development  of  humanity.  The  an- 
crstry  of  the  Australian,  the  Eskimo,  and  the 
Fuegians  may  have  been  as  noble  as  our  own, 
but  the  wretched  conditions  in  which  they  have 
lived  have  barely  kept  them  alive  on  the  verge  of 


A  FIELD  FOR  METHODISM.  47 

extinction.  Apply  this  law  to  the  central  part  of 
this  continent — to  the  lake  region  and  to  the 
mountain-girded  valley  of  the  Missouri.  Then 
the  impression- — an  impression  which  can  not  be 
shaken  from  the  mind — is  the  idea  of  beauty, 
wealth,  and  vastness.  Its  geology  suggests  the 
vastness  of  time,  its  mines  of  gold  and  silver,  and 
the  inexhaustible  resources  of  its  soil;  what 
harvests  may  be  reaped !  what  rivers !  what  valleys 
and  plains!  what  a  paradise  for  flocks  and  herds! 
what  mountains,  canons,  trees,  and  rocks!  The 
humanity  developed  in  the  midst  of  these  com- 
binations of  the  rich,  the  beautiful,  and  the  vast, 
will  receive  its  inspiration  and  take  its  cast  from 
them. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  going  on  a  con- 
centration of  the  best  Aryan  blood  in  the  world 
in  the  immense  valleys  of  the  Missouri  and  Mis- 
sissippi Rivers.  At  least  a  dozen  different  streams 
of  humanity  are  converging  into  this  wide  and 
diversified  region  of  the  gold  and  silver  mines. 
A  rich,  broken,  and  mountainous  country  is  a 
grand  place  for  the  raising  of  mighty  men.  A 
traveler  called  at  the  door  of  a  tidy  appearing 
cottage  in  the  mountains  of  New  Hampshire,  and 
asked  for  a  drink  of  water.  Being  supplied,  he 
inquired:  "What  on  earth  do  you  do  in  this 
rough,  rocky  country?"  "Sir,  we  build  churches 
and  school-houses,  and  raise  men!"  was  the  reply. 
The  seat  of  empire  is  moving  westward,  and  in 
the  not  far-off  future  the  center  of  population-  will 


48  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

be  in  Illinois,  Missouri,  Kansas,  Iowa,  and  Ne- 
braska. From  the  mountains  of  Colorado,  New 
Mexico,  Utah,  Montana,  Wyoming,  and  Idaho  will 
come  forth  the  men  of  brain  and  brawn  who  will 
rule  this  Nation,  and  they  will  rule  it  in  the  spirit 
of  its  greatness.  Calmer  regions  may  furnish  the 
scholars  and  the  literature  of  the  Nation;  but 
from  those  scenes  of  grandeur  our  poets  will  de- 
rive their  inspiration,  and  from  them  the  min- 
isters will  come  who  will  give  character  to  our 
pulpits. 

Whose  but  a  prophet's  vision  can  tell  what 
this  country  will  be  when  the  census  shall  report 
a  population  of  a  half-billion  of  souls?  The  same 
sun  will  shine  overhead,  the  same  seasons  come 
and  go,  the  same  mountains  stand,  and  the  same 
rivers  roll;  and  the  only  problem  whose  solution 
is  unknown  or  doubtful  is  the  moral  and  religious 
development  of  the  Nation  which  the  far-away 
years  will  witness.  Without  doubt  we  shall  have 
our  Syllas  and  Catilines.  They  may  arise  in  the 
East  or  North  or  South  or  West.  The  South  will 
not  be  likely  to  repeat  her  late  experiment  for  a 
long  time,  and  her  example  and  fate  as  a  warning 
will  not  soon  be  forgotten  by  any  section  of  the 
country.  Still  we  must  not  forget  that  a  Repub- 
lican soil  is  luxuriant  in  the  production  of  dema- 
gogues. A  government  from  the  people,  by  the 
people,  and  for  the  people,  is  open  for  every  citi- 
zen to  become  a  blessing  or  a  curse  to  his  country. 
The  possibilities  of  intelligence,  virtue,  and  honor 


A  FIELD  FOR  METHODISM.  49 

are  also  at  the  same  time  the  possibilities  of  igno- 
rance, crime,  and  degradation.  The  mechanism 
of  necessity  and  moral  law  can  not,  in  this  re- 
spect, be  invoked  as  a  means  of  producing  certain 
results,  for  the  existence  of  vice  is  possible.  The 
security  and  peace  of  a  Nation  as  vast  as  this  is 
to  be  found  nowhere  under  a  republican  form  of 
government,  except  in  the  intelligence  and  virtue 
of  the  people,  and  the  whole  people.  The  failure 
of  the  Republic  will  introduce  the  despot  and 
standing  armies.  A  wicked  demagogue  can  make 
a  sacrifice  of  a  republic  only  on  the  altar  of  the 
ignorance  and  depravity  of  the  people.  The  thor- 
ough education  of  the  fast-coming  millions  in 
true  Christian  Americanism  is  the  work  now  be- 
fore us  as  a  Nation ;  and  in  this  culture,  the  con- 
science and  the  religious  element,  as  the  preserv- 
atives of  the  sanctity  of  an  oath,  must  be  made  of 
overwhelming  importance. 

We  should  regard  the  perils  through  which  we 
have  passed  as  a  school,  in  which  we  may  learn 
to  watch  the  storm-centers  which  are  ever  threat- 
ening the  life  of  the  Nation.  The  preservation 
of  liberty  requires  eternal  vigilance  on  the  part 
of  the  people,  as  fully  as  the  perpetuation  of  des- 
potism receives  the  ceaseless  vigilance  of  the 
despot. 

Rome,  the  most  powerful  empire  that  ever  ex- 
isted, by  its  fall  teaches  us  many  useful  lessons. 
In  the  height  of  its  splendor,  its  capital  city  be- 
came glutted  with  wealth,  which  was  nothing  but 

5 


50  OUR  CO UNTR Y  AND  ME THODISM. 

the  plunder  of  the  nations  its  legions  had  con- 
quered. This  ill-gotten  gain  engendered  idleness, 
luxury,  and  vice,  and  thus  the  foundation  of  the 
vast  empire  was  sapped.  As  the  realm  did  not 
continue  till  the  different  peoples  became  homo- 
geneous, they  had  but  few  common  interests,  and 
the  empire  crumbled  to  pieces.  Happily  this  Re- 
public can  never  become  exposed  to  the  corrup- 
tions of  rapine  and  plunder.  Our  neighbors  must 
always  be  too  far  away  to  allow  that  to  be  possi- 
ble; and,  then,  the  acquisition  of  territory  by 
conquest  forms  no  part  of  the  ambition  of  the 
American  people.  And,  still  further,  we  trust 
that  the  high  moral  tone  of  the  Nation  will 
forever  forbid  the  accumulation  of  wealth  by 
the  ruthless  and  inhuman  robbery  of  other 
people. 

But  is  it  not  possible  that  the  calamities  of 
wealth,  with  its  luxury  and  vice,  may  come  upon 
the  Nation  from  other  sources?  Let  us  glance  at 
the  possibilities  in  this  direction.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  riches  of  this  country  are  des- 
tined to  surpass  by  far  "the  wealth  of  Ormus  and 
of  Ind."  Our  mines  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  tin, 
iron,  lead,  coal,  salt,  oil,  and  gas  present  us  fig- 
ures which  stagger  the  imagination  of  the  statis- 
tician. The  wealth  of  the  United  States  in  1890 
was  estimated  at  $71,000,000,000.  This  sum  sur- 
passes the  wealth  of  Great  Britain — long  the 
wealthiest  nation  on  the  globe — $21,000,000,000, 
and  is  equal  to  the. wealth  of  Russia,  Turkey, 


A  FIELD  FOR  METHODISM.  51 

Sweden,  Denmark,  Norway,  Italy,  Australia,  South 
Africa,  and  South  America. 

In  1860  the  wealth  of  this  country  was  esti- 
mated at  $16,000,000,000,  of  which  $1,250,000,000 
was  slave  property.  Of  course  that  sort  of  value 
has  been  sponged  out  in  blood;  but,  notwith- 
standing that  apparent  loss,  the  wealth  of  the  na- 
tion increased  in  twenty  years  $27,482,000,000. 
Is  it  not  a  marvelous  and  prophetic  fact  that  the 
youngest  Nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth  has  be- 
come the  most  wealthy?  Between  1870  and  1880 
our  wealth  increased  to  the  enormous  and  unpar- 
alleled extent  of  $19,587,000,000.  Consider  still 
further  that  this  country  is  yet  in  its  infancy. 
Every  department  of  industry  will  increase  with 
the  growth  of  our  populations.  The  physical  re- 
sources of  the  country  have  not  yet  been  dis- 
covered, much  less  developed.  Our  domes-tic  com- 
merce has  already  reached  the  enormous  sum 
of  $20,000,000,000.  Europe  expends  annually 
$900,000,000  on  about  3,000,000  of  soldiers.  We 
allow  our  able-bodied  men  to  work  and  support 
themselves  and  their  families.  France,  Prussia, 
Russia,  Austria,  Turkey,  and  England  stand  facing 
and  watching  each  other,  suspicious  and  jealous, 
growling  and  showing  teeth;  and  especially  is  this 
the  case  with  England  and  Russia,  and  France 
and  Prussia.  Hence  the  reasons  for  the  expendi- 
ture of  immense  sums  in  military  and  naval  af- 
fairs. Happily  our  country  is  free  from  the 
embarrassments  which  arise  from  competing,  sen- 


52  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

sitive,  and  jealous  neighbors.  Such  difficulties 
dissolve  and  disappear  in  the  presence  of  com- 
mon interests. 

The  main  sources  of  wealth  in  this  country 
are  mining,  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  com- 
merce. Were  the  single  State  of  Kansas  culti- 
vated to  the  utmost  capacity  of  its  rich,  deep 
soil,  its  productions  would  be  adequate  to  the 
support  of  ten  millions  of  people.  What,  then,  of 
the  whole  country? 

The  mineral  lands  of  this  country,  Alaska  not 
included,  cover  an  area  of  not  less  than  1,000,000 
of  square  miles,  and  of  North  America  not  less 
than  2,000,000,  and  the  wealth  they  are  to  yield 
we  have  no  figures  to  estimate. 

In  no  way  is  the  peculiar  genius  of  the  Amer- 
ican people  made  more  manifest  than  in  the  work 
of  invention  and  the  business  of  manufacturing. 
Here  is  not  only  a  source  of  wealth  but  of  dan- 
ger, and  the  best  safety-valve  will  be  found  in 
carrying  on  a  vigorous  commerce  with  other 
nations. 

The  vast  wealth  of  the  Nation  is  a  pleasing 
consideration,  and  could  it,  with  any  degree  of 
equality,  be  diffused  among  the  people,  it  would 
not  be  a  source  of  danger.  Already  immense  for- 
tunes are  drifting  into  business  centers,  which  are 
controlled  by  a  few  men.  Could  we,  by  legisla- 
tion or  education,  give  to  the  masses  a  greater 
business  capacity,  and  lessen  the  money-making 
power  of  the  few,  the  threatened  evil  might  be 


A  FIELD  FOR  METHODISM.  53 

remedied.     Monopolies  and  trust  companies  are 
but  the  fruits  of  commercial  genius. 

We  have  not  yet  found  a  basis  on  which  the 
conflict  between  capital  and  labor  can  be  perma- 
nently settled.  Our  great  cities  are  becoming  the 
hot-beds  of  secret  societies  and  imported  Anar- 
chists. Politics  without  statesmanship  is  becom- 
ing a  profession  and  a  matter  of  barter.  But 
the  danger  which  threatens  the  development  and 
stability  of  the  country  more  than  any  other  arises 
from  the  manufacture  and  use  of  intoxicating 
drinks.  The  degenerating  effects  of  drunkenness 
are  transmitted  from  parent  to  offspring,  and  often 
many  generations  pass  away  before  the  virus  is 
eliminated  from  the  system.  Either  prohibition 
must  become  an  accomplished  fact  in  the  not  dis- 
tant future,  or  this  Nation  will  become  a  Nation 
of  drunkards.  There  seems  to  be  something  de- 
moniac in  every  part  of  the  whisky  business.  The 
most  fiendish  ingenuity  has  been  manifested  in 
the  persistent  attempts  which  have  been  made  to 
dodge  or  defy  the  law,  and  force  the  liquor-traffic 
upon  the  prohibiting  vStates  of  Maine,  Kansas, 
Iowa,  and  the  Dakotas.  The  strife  will  continue 
till  the  enemy  is  crushed,  and  eternal  vigilance 
will  be  required  of  every  good  citizen  of  those 
young  States  to  preserve  their  interests  and  in- 
tegrity. Rum  and  crimes  of  every  name  and  de- 
scription go  hand  in  hand.  They  are  parts  of 
the  same  thing.  Could  intoxicants  be  banished 
from  our  great  cities,  the  poverty  and  crime  and 


54  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

misery  which  abound  would  be  lessened  at  least 
eighty  per  cent. 

Already,  as  an  element  of  American  society, 
the  Nation  is  cursed  with  what  is  known  as  the 
socialism  of  Europe.  A  multitude  of  intelligent, 
keen-witted,  but  exasperated  foreigners  have 
brought  to  this  country  the  horrors  they  experi- 
enced at  home,  at  the  sight  of  the  miseries  they 
there  witnessed  arising  from  the  wealth  of  the 
few  and  the  helpless  poverty  of  the  many.  Some 
of  these  Anarchists  propose  the  regeneration  of 
society  here  by  the  use  of  dynamite  and  gun- 
powder. They  teach  and  educate  their  children 
to  believe  that  arson,  plunder,  and  murder  are 
not  crimes  if  committed  for  the  purpose  of  anni- 
hilating the  rights  of  private  property.  The  fol- 
lowing choice  phrases  are  intended  to  be  retained 
in  memory  as  household  words:  "Away  with  pri- 
vate property!"  "Away  with  all  authority!" 
"Away  with  the  family!"  "Away  with  religion!" 
"Religion,  authority,  and  State  are  all  carved  out 
of  the  same  piece  of  wood.  To  the  devil  with 
them  all!"  "Prepare  for  the  coming  revolution!" 
"Every  man  must  have  a  breech-loader,  and  know 
how  to  use  it!"  "Dynamite  can  be  made  out  of 
the  dead  bodies  of  capitalists  as  well  as  out  of 
hogs!"  These  are  not  intended  to  be  idle  words. 
The  scaffold  in  Chicago  has  reaped  one  harvest  of 
this  seed,  and  others  are  to  follow. 

The  proper  observance  of  the  Christian  Sab- 
bath is  closely  connected  with  that  righteousness 


A  FIELD  FOR  METHODISM.  55 

which  exalteth  a  nation,  and  saves  it  from  vice 
and  reproach.  A  large  percentage  of  the  foreign 
element  which  annually  lands  upon  these  shores 
knows  nothing  of  the  sanctity  and  the  religious 
use  which  should  be  made  of  God's  holy  day. 
Infidelity  is  constantly  assailing  it,  and  seeking  to 
effect  its  abrogation.  Shall  it  be  preserved  or 
not?  A  vast  power  must  be  enlisted  in  its  be- 
half, if  it  is  saved  to  this  Nation  and  its  religious 
benefits  secured.  The  Nation  started  with  a  sa- 
cred Sabbath,  and,  in  order  to  its  perpetuity,  the 
Sabbath  must  remain  as  a  part  of  the  fiber  of  so- 
ciety. The  adverse  influence  of  trade,  commerce, 
and  politics  must  be  counteracted  by  the  evangel- 
izing forces  of  the  Churches. 

But  all  that  is  valuable  in  a  free  country  must 
rest  upon  the  intelligence  and  virtue  of  the  people. 
An  ignorant  nation,  subject  to  the  sway  of  con- 
flicting interests  and  wild  passions,  can  be  gov- 
erned only  by  the  rod  of  the  despot.  In  all  such 
cases  republican  institutions  are  impracticable. 
This  Nation  has  ventured  out  upon  a  wide  sea, 
subject  to  all  the  storms  and  commotions  of  life, 
trusting  that  such  would  be  the  intelligence  of 
the  masses  that  they  will  ever  be  able  to  appre- 
ciate what  was  wise  and  just,  and  defend  them 
with  their  treasure  and  their  lives.  Hence  the 
common-school  system  of  most  of  the  States  mak- 
ing, in  some  cases,  the  education  of  all  the  chil- 
dren compulsory.  Millions  and  millions  of  money 
have  been,  and  yet  will  be,  appropriated  for  this 


56  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

purpose.  All  such  taxes  are  cheerfully  paid  ;  for 
the  people  feel  that  the  very  life  of  the  Nation 
depends  upon  the  education  of  those  who  govern 
through  the  ballot-box.  As  supplementary  agen- 
cies to  the  common  school,  libraries  are  provided, 
newspapers  are  scattered  like  the  leaves  of  the 
forest  in  autumn  time,  and  every  part  of  the  Na- 
tion is  furnished  with  academies  and  colleges. 

Such  are  some  of  the  elements  of  power  which 
may  be  regarded  as  fundamental  to  the  prosperity, 
and  even  the  perpetuity,  of  this  great  Republic. 
They  are  more  essential  to  the  existence  of  this 
Nation  than  to  any  other  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 
How  shall  they  be  perpetuated,  how  conserved, 
and  how  applied?  The  truth  must  be  planted  in 
the  enlightened  conscience  of  the  people  that  God 
reigns,  that  he  himself  is  judge,  and  that  all  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  are  to  become  the  king- 
dom of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ.  This  can 
be  done  only  as  the  Church,  as  a  life-giving  and 
leavening  power,  becomes  diffused  among  the 
masses. 

This  is  as  yet  a  new  country,  under  the  sway 
of  a  new  government,  characterized  by  new  insti- 
tutions, new  customs  and  laws,  ethnically  the  home 
of  a  new  race,  and  all  these  things  are  to  be  pre- 
served. This  can  be  done  only  as  there  is  brought 
to  their  support  a  new  conservative  religious 
power.  The  National  Church  of  England  is 
adapted  to  conserve  the  political  interests  of  that 
nation,  and  fifty  years  ago  Buddhism  was  adapted 


A  FIELD  FOR  METHODISM.  57 

to  the  dark  and  stupid  condition  of  Japan.  Mo- 
hammedanism fits  very  well  the  half-civilized  con- 
dition of  the  Turkish  Empire.  Popery  exists  in 
beautiful  harmony  with  the  Sabbath  bull-fights 
and  the  general  ignorance  and  profligacy  of  Spain 
and  Mexico. 

But  when,  in  the  providence  of  God,  the  Amer- 
ican Republic  sprung  into  organic  form,  there  was 
not  a  Church  in  existence,  as  the  facts  when 
brought  forward  will  demonstrate,  that  was 
adapted  to  its  condition  and  necessities.  The 
new  bottle  demanded  new  wine,  and  the  God  of 
nations  supplied  its  wants  in  his  own  way.  This 
stupendous  fact  will  appear  only  as  we  trace  in 
parallel  and  yet  interwoven  lines  the  histories  of 
Methodism  and  the  Nation,  and  note  the  silent 
and  scarcely  conscious  influence  the  'one  has  had 
upon  the  other.  The  field  of  thought  before  us 
is,  then,  the  founding  of  a  new,  free  Nation;  the 
springing  into  existence  at  the  same  time  of  a 
new  Church ;  the  independence  of  both ;  the  march 
of  civilization,  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
conduct  of  as  wise  and  brave  men  in  behalf  of 
both  as  God  ever  called  to  act  a  noble  part  in  the 
affairs  of  either  Church  or  State. 


"  jjfROM  an  examination  of  all  the  records  which  we  have 
C-H  been  able  to  command,  and  from  a  pretty  extensive  in- 
quiry of  the  living,  we  can  not  find  more  than  fifteen  places 
in  New  England  in  which  there  was  a  special  work  of  grace 
during  the  first  forty  years  after  the  'great  revival'  under 
Edwards  and  Whitefield." 

58  — Christian  Spectator,  June,  1833. 


CHAPTER  III. 

INADEQUACY  OF  THE  OLD  CHURCHES  TO  MEET  THE 
WANTS  OF  THE  NEW  NATION. 

BY  the  bold  Declaration  of  Independence,  the 
Continental  Congress  assumed,  July  4,  1776, 
for  the  thirteen  Colonies,  the  responsibilities  of  a 
Nation  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  The  pop- 
ulation of  the  Atlantic  Slope,  at  the  time,  was 
about  three  and  a  half  millions  of  souls,  the  most 
of  it  poor,  and  scattered  over  a  wide  extent  of 
country. 

The  relation  of  the  new-born  Republic — suf- 
fering  from  the  throes  of  internal  revolution  and 
of  a  deadly  conflict  with  Great  Britain — to  the 
various  religious  bodies  of  the  world,  Romish  and 
Protestant,  must,  at  this  point,  be  carefully  con- 
sidered. Our  argument  assumes  that  none  of 
these  Churches,  nor  all  of  them  together,  were 
fitted  or  adequate  to  meet  the  peculiar  wants  of 
the  young  Nation  as  it  then  was,  or  as  it  was 
speedily  to  become,  and  that  Methodism  by  a 
special  providence  was  raised  up  to  meet  the 
emergency. 

Has  the  remarkable  fact  been  sufficiently  con- 
sidered that  Methodism,  as  spiritual  life,  pure, 
simple,  and  powerful,  without  a  touch  of  ecclesi- 

59 


60  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

astical  authority,  was  indigenous  to  the  soil  of 
the  American  Nation?  At  the  time  when  the 
first  low  mutterings  of  the  thunders  of  the  Rev- 
olution were  heard,  the  Methodist  life,  in  the  per- 
sons of  Robert  Strawbridge,  Captain  Webb,  Bar- 
bara Heck,  and  Philip  Embury,  found  in  three 
different  localities,  far-distant  from  each  other,  a 
spontaneous  development.  So  far  as  Church 
authority  was  concerned,  these  persons  were  as 
free  as  the  air.  They  recognized  no  allegiance 
except  to  their  Divine  Master  and  to  their  own 
convictions  of  duty.  The  zeal  they  manifested  in 
preaching  the  gospel  was  the  natural  and  neces- 
sary outcome  of  the  fire  that  was  in  them.  In 
the  marked  success  which  attended  their  labors 
they  saw  the  seal  of  a  divine  approval,  and  were 
satisfied.  These  persons  commenced  their  labors 
in  different  Colonies,  and  prosecuted  them  for 
some  time  without  even  knowing  of  the  existence 
of  their  co-workers.  The  blood  of  England,  Ire- 
land, and  Germany — an  ominous  commence- 
ment— was  thus,  in  the  beginning,  enlisted  in  the 
cause  of  Methodism. 

The  fact  that  Barbara  Heck,  Philip  Embury, 
Robert  Strawbridge,  and  Captain  Webb  were  con- 
verted across  the  seas,  under  the  labors  of  Wesley, 
makes  no  difference.  Their  love  for  Christ  and 
the  zeal  for  the  conversion  of  souls  they  mani- 
fested here,  were  the  spontaneous  outworkings  of 
the  grace  they  had  individually  received  from  on 
high.  It  was  thus  that,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  Meth- 


THE  OLD  CHURCHES  INADEQUATE.          6 1 

odism  became  at  an  early  day  rooted  in  the  soil  of 
America. 

We  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Churches 
of  the  Colonies  were  inadequate  to  their  spiritual 
wants,  not  by  any  speculative  theory,  religious  or 
political,  but  by  the  logic  of  the  palpable  facts  in 
the  case.  Where  existing  Churches  do  their  work 
thoroughly  and  well,  there  is  neither  call  nor  room 
for  a  new  body.  That  our  reasons  for  the  judg- 
ment we  have  formed  in  this  matter  may  be  the 
more  apparent,  we  will  take  a  brief  survey  of  the 
ecclesiastical  state  of  the  country  between  the 
years  1766  and  1776,  before  the  country  was  seri- 
ously disturbed  by  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

i.  THE  ROMISH  HIERARCHY. 

Popery  held  possession  of  South  and  Central 
America,  of  Mexico,  New  Orleans,  Cuba,  Cali- 
fornia, New  Mexico,  Florida,  St.  Louis,  Detroit, 
parts  of  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin,  most  of  Can- 
ada, a  part  of  Maryland,  and  the  Jesuits  had  ob- 
tained a  foothold  even  in  Boston.  For  more  than 
one  hundred  years  had  Romanism  held  undis- 
puted possession  of  Toronto,  Quebec,  Detroit, 
Baltimore,  and  many  other  strategic  points.  In 
1775,  Jesuit  priests  penetrated  Kentucky,  and 
founded  the  city  of  St.  Louis.  The  Colonies  were 
thus  begirt  on  all  sides  with  the  Romish  hie- 
rarchy. Is  it  not  clear  that  had  not  the  adverse 
decree  of  the  God  of  nations  been  in  their  way, 
the  Jesuits  might  have  seized  the  young  Republic 
as  a  popish  prize  ? 


62         OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM, 

2.  THE  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND  HIERARCHY. 
South   of  the    Potomac   to   Florida,   from    the 

earliest  settlement  of  the  country  up  to  the  time 
of  the  Revolution,  the  people  were  dependent  for 
religious  instruction  and  the  ordinances  of  Chris- 
tianity upon  the  State  Church.  From  1662  this 
Church  shared  the  religious  interests  of  Mary- 
land with  the  Romanists.  In  Virginia  alone  there 
were  ninety-five  parishes,  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  churches,  and  ninety-one  clergymen.  The 
communicants  embraced  the  greater  part  of  the 
population.  This  Church  was  established  in  New 
York  in  1693,  and  its  influence  soon  reached  New 
Jersey.  In  1686  an  Episcopal  Church  was  estab- 
lished in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  and  in  1772  it 
obtained  a  footing  in  Connecticut.  At  the  time 
of  the  birth  of  the  Republic  this  Church  was 
established  in  most  of  the  Colonies;  in  the  South 
it  was  very  strong,  and  its  position  was  favorable 
to  make  it  the  Church  of  the  new  Nation. 

3.  THE  CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

The  Puritans  who  landed  at  Plymouth  in  1620 
founded  the  Congregational  Church  of  the  United 
States,  and  from  the  beginning  till  long  after  the 
Revolution,  it  was  the  legally  established  order  in 
most  of  the  New  England  States.  Its  communi- 
cants embraced  a  large  part  of  the  population, 
and  all  property  owners  were  required  to  pay 
tithes  for  its  support.  In  cases  of  non-member- 
ship this  law  was  often  most  rigidly  enforced. 
In  Massachusetts  the  Congregationalists  had,  in 


THE  OLD  CHURCHES  INADEQUATE.          63 

1760,  seventy-seven  churches;  and  in  Connecticut, 
thirty-seven.  Between  1640  and  1740  the  Con- 
gregational Church  was  established  in  New  York 
and  New  Jersey.  The  origin,  strength,  and 
loyalty  of  this  Church  gave  to  it  great  oppor- 
tunities, and  placed  upon  it  vast  responsibilities; 
but,  for  reasons  which  will  appear  further  on, 
something  was  lacking,  and  it  was  not  equal  to 
the  wants  of  the  coming  Nation. 

4.  THE  REGULAR  BAPTISTS. 

This  Church  is  indigenous  to  the  soil  of 
America.  Persecuted  in  Massachusetts,  as  he 
alleged,  for  opinion's  sake — but,  as  others  claim, 
banished  because  he  was  a  turbulent  spirit — Roger 
Williams  went  to  Rhode  Island,  and  organized  a 
Baptist  Church  in  1638.  In  1700  a  Baptist  Church 
was  organized  in  New  York;  in  1682,  in  Maine; 
in  1683,  in  South  Carolina;  in  1684,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania; in  1688,  in  New  Jersey;  in  1701,  in  Dela- 
ware; in  1705,  in  Connecticut;  in  1714,  in  Vir- 
ginia; in  1727,  in  North  Carolina;  in  1755,  in 
New  Hampshire ;  and  later,  in  other  Colonies  and 
States.  In  1766  this  Church  numbered  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  congregations  and  min- 
isters. In  New  England,  New  York,  and  in  some 
other  places,  it  had  suffered  persecution;  never- 
theless it  had  grown  and  prospered  more  than 
any  other  Church.  It  was  loyal  to  liberty  during 
the  War,  and  having  a  position  in  nearly  all  the 
Colonies,  it  was  in  a  favorable  position  to  take  in 
charge  the  religious  interests  of  the  new  Nation. 


64  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

5.  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized  in 
America  in  1684,  in  the  Colony  of  Maryland;  in 
1692,  in  New  Jersey;  in  1698,  in  Philadelphia;  and 
in  1716,  in  New  York  City.  From  this  time  on,  the 
Presbyterian  Church  steadily  increased  in  numbers 
and  influence,  mostly  as  the  result  of  the  heavy  tide 
of  emigration  which  set  in  from  Scotland,  England, 
Wales,  and  the  North  of  Ireland.  In  1745  a  Presby- 
tery is  reported  in  New  England.  In  about  1770  the 
Church  organization  stood :  Two  Synods,  ten  Pres- 
byteries, and  about  one  hundred  ministers. 

Presbyterians  did  more  than  any  other  class  of 
citizens  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  independence 
of  the  Colonies.  In  leaving  Scotland  and  Ireland 
they  brought  with  them  but  little  love  for  Eng- 
land. They  saw  the  coming  of  the  Revolution 
before  this  stupendous  event  had  entered  the 
minds  of  the  politicians.  The  Synod  which  met 
in  Philadelphia,  in  1775,  favored  resistance  to  the 
king ;  and  in  the  following  May,  of  the  same  year, 
the  Synod  which  met  in  Mecklenburg  issued  a 
Declaration  of  Independence.  The  Scotch-Irish 
Presbyterians  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey 
were  not  a  whit  behind  their  Congregational 
brethren  of  New  England  in  the  Colonial  Coun- 
cils, or  in  baring  their  breasts  to  the  bullets  of  the 
enemy.  This  Church  was  badly  shattered  during 
the  war;  but  in  the  heroic  sacrifices  it  had  made 
in  carrying  the  Colonies  through  the  throes  of  the 
Revolution,  it  had  gone  far  to  earn  the  right  to 


THE  OLD  CHURCHES  INADEQUATE.          65 

take  in  charge  the  religious  interests  of  the  infant 
Nation.  But — 

6.  THE  LUTHERAN  CHURCH. 

This  Church  was  established  in  Delaware  in 
1638,  and  in  New  York  in  1644.  It  was  greatly 
favored  by  emigration,  and  in  1760  its  influence 
extended  from  Maine  to  Georgia.  As  the  people 
generally  spoke  the  English  language,  the  Lu- 
theran preachers  gave  their  attention  almost  ex- 
clusively to  the  German  population. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  our  argument  that  smaller 
denominations,  as  Jews,  Mennonites,  Bunkers, 
German  Reformed,  Associate  Reformed,  etc.,  be 
characterized,  since  their  influence  has  been  but 
slightly  felt  by  the  Nation. 

Whilst  these  six  religious  bodies  were  in  the 
field  and  fully  organized,  holding  everywhere  the 
central  positions — especially  the  Romanists,  Con- 
gregationalists,  the  English  Church,  and  the  Pres- 
byterians— where  were  the  Methodists?  So  far 
as  we  know,  there  was  not  in  1760  one  in  Amer- 
ica. The  Wesleys  were  in  England,  preaching  in 
the  highways,  byways,  fields,  and  market-places, 
as  the  State  Churches  were  shut  against  them. 
As  if  winged  for  the  flight,  they  visited  every 
part  of  the  United  Kingdom,  neglecting  not  the 
"Black  Country;"  and  before  the  victory  was 
complete,  they  wrestled  long  and  hard  with  the 
beastly  mobs  of  Cornwall.  Most  abundant  were 
the  fruits  of  their  labors.  Nothing  equal  to  it 
had  the  world  witnessed  since  the  apostolic  age. 

6 


65  .OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

John  Wesley,  whose  talent  for  organizing  and 
governing  has  seldom  been  surpassed,  put  into 
the  field  as  "helpers"  many  courageous  and  brill- 
iant lay  preachers,  organized  circuits,  classes,  and 
bands,  built  churches,  and  thus  secured  the  fruits 
of  his  labors.  In  seemingly  an  erratic  and  almost 
aimless  way,  Whitefield  had  repeatedly  visited 
America ;  but  his  influence  was  on  the  wane.  So 
overwhelmed  with  labors  were  the  Wesleys,  that 
they  seemed  to  have  given  no  thought  to 
America. 

But  a  greater  than  Wesley  saw  that  a  new  Na- 
tion was  about  to  emerge  from  the  throes  of  a 
bloody  conflict  between  the  Colonies  and  the 
mother  country.  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  cometh 
not  with  observation."  Rather  its  beginning  is 
like  a  stone  cut  out  of  the  mountain  without 
hands,  or  the  grain  of  mustard-seed,  the  smallest 
of  all  seeds.  In  accordance  with  this  principle,  in 
about  the  year  1763  Robert  Strawbridge,  a  young, 
fiery,  Irish  local  preacher,  one  of  Wesley's  lay 
helpers,  on  his  own  motion,  came  to  this  country 
and  settled  on  Sam's  Creek,  near  Baltimore,  in 
the  Colony  of  Maryland.  With  no  authority  above 
him  on  the  soil  of  America  but  that  of  Heaven, 
he  broke  the  seals  of  his  ministry,  and  great  was 
the  success  which  attended  his  labors.  So  far  as 
he  knew,  until  converts  began  to  multiply  around 
him,  himself  and  wife  were  the  only  Methodists 
to  be  found  in  America.  About  this  time,  Cap- 
tain Webb,  an  officer  in  the  British  army,  being 


THE  OLD  CHURCHES  INADEQUATE.          67 

on  duty  in  Albany,  New  York,  acting  out  the  true 
spirit  of  Methodism,  commenced  preaching  the 
"new"  gospel,  as  it  was  called,  to  soldiers  and  to 
any  others  who  would  listen  to  him.  The  word 
was  blessed  to  the  good  of  many.  Converts  were 
multiplied,  though  he  organized  no  society  so  far 
as  is  known.  While  engaged  in  these  labors,  this 
brave  British  officer,  bearing  the  scars  of  many 
battles  for  his  country,  knew  not  of  another  Meth- 
odist on  the  continent.  But  about  this  time  there 
came  to  the  city  of  New  York  a  woman  of  Ger- 
man blood,  whose  name  was  Barbara  Heck,  the 
wife  of  Paul  Heck,  and  a  celestial  spark  from  that 
battery  started  the  flame  of  Methodism  in  New 
York  City.  A  society  was  organized.  Philip  Em- 
bury, a  local  preacher,  was  moved  to  come  to  its 
assistance,  and  the  true  Methodist  revival  power 
spread  in  all  directions.  Captain  Webb,  on  learn- 
ing what  was  going  on  in  New  York  City,  within 
a  few  days,  clad  in  the  garb  of  a  British  officer, 
appeared  in  their  midst,  and  greatly  encouraged 
them  by  his  preaching  and  prayers.  In  Maryland 
Strawbridge  organized  a  circuit,  formed  societies, 
and  built  a  log  chapel.  His  rude  church  was 
never  finished,  as  the  work  spread  so  rapidly  that 
a  larger  house  was  demanded.  The  fact  that 
Methodism  should,  simultaneously  and  spontane- 
ously, in  three  different  places  remote  from  each 
other  on  this  continent,  spring  up  out  of  the  earth, 
or,  rather,  come  down  from  heaven,  among  three 
different  nationalities,  must  be  regarded  as  prov- 


68  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

idential,     and    as    foreshadowing    its    world-wide 
mission. 

Such  were  the  principal  ecclesiastical  forces 
which  we  find  at  work  in  this  country  a  few  years 
before  the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 
The  following  figures  will  give  a  correct  idea  of 
the  strength  of  the  Churches  in  1775,  as  furnished 
by  Dr.  Robert  Baird,  in  his  work  entitled  "Relig- 
ion in  America:" 

Ministers.  Churches. 

Episcopalians, 250  300 

Baptists, .               350  380 

Congregation  alists, 575  700 

Presbyterians, 140  300 

Lutherans, 25  60 

Reformed  Dutch, 25  60 

Methodists, 20  30 

Romanists, 26  52 

Who  at  that  time  could  have  prophesied  that 
in  less  than  a  half  a  century  the  least  among  the 
Protestant  bodies  would  become  the  first  and  the 
greatest? 

It  is  easy  enough  to  set  forth  the  facts  of  his- 
tory; but  these  become  valuable  only  as  we  learn 
the  lessons  they  teach.  Some  one  has  said  that 
history  is  philosophy  teaching  by  example ;  and  it 
is  the  reason,  the  philosophy,  or  the  providence  of 
Methodism  we  desire  to  understand.  This  is  at 
present  our  sole  business. 

Why  was  it  impossible  for  Romanism  to  be- 
come the  religion  of  the  American  Republic?  We 
answer:  It  was  as  old,  stale  wine,  fit  only  for  an 
old  bottle;  whereas  the  new  Republic,  as  a  new 
bottle,  demanded  new  wine,  that  both  might  be 


THE  OLD  CHURCHES  INADEQUATE.          69 

preserved.  Such  is  the  nature  of  things  and  such 
the  order  of  Providence.  Had  it  been  the  Divine 
will  to  reproduce  upon  this  continent  the  Spanish 
nation — once  one  of  the  most  brutal  and  blood- 
thirsty nations  that  ever  existed — then  the  Span- 
ish Romanists  might  have  been  a  success  in  this 
country.  In  the  political  and  religious  history  of 
Mexico,  Honduras,  Cuba,  Guatemala,  Nicarau- 
gua,  and  the  States  of  South  America,  we  can  see 
what  our  Nation  would  have  been  under  Roman- 
ism. Had  the  Divine  plan  been  to  make  North 
America  an  appendage  of  France,  success  would 
have  attended  the  unparalleled  zeal  of  French  col- 
onists and  the  unwearied  labors  of  French  Jesuit 
missionaries.  But,  as  it  now  appears,  French 
blood,  French  religion,  and  French  treasures  were 
wasted  when  expended  for  the  possession  of 
America. 

The  sacrifices  and  labors  the  Romish  mis- 
sionaries endured  on  this  continent  have  never 
been  surpassed  ;  but  primarily  they  labored,  not 
for  the  spread  of  Christianity,  not  for  the  conver- 
sion of  souls,  not  for  the  moral  welfare  of  human- 
ity, not  for  the  righteousness  and  glory  of  the 
Nation,  but  for  the  dissemination  and  power  of 
popery.  The  Good  Being  had  in  mind  for  us 
another  destiny,  and  in  the  thousand  defeats 
Rome  suffered,  we  escaped  the  papal  grasp.  Ev- 
ery country  in  the  world  that  is  under  the  sway 
of  Romanism  is  morally  five  hundred  years  be- 
hind and  below  what  it  ought  to  be.  Popery  can 


70  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

flourish  among  the  masses  only  where,  as  in  old, 
obsolete  European  nations,  ignorance,  supersti- 
tion, and  crime  prevail.  Hence  Romanism  was 
wholly  unsuited  to  the  wants  of  a  young,  intelli- 
gent, growing  Republic.  It  was  the  stereotyped 
edition  of  the  Dark  Ages — that  "  night  of  a  thou- 
sand years  " — and  humanity,  in  its  higher  forms, 
having  grown  away  from  that  period,  it  could 
not  be  reproduced  or  duplicated  in  a  new  empire. 
With  every  true  Romanist  the  pope  is  first. 
Home,  country,  Christianity,  heaven,  and  hell 
are  secondary  considerations.  When  the  figure  of 
a  circle  and  a  square  are  made  to  coincide,  then 
may  a  papist  be  loyal  and  true  to  this  country  and 
also,  at  the  same  time,,  to  the  pope  of  Rome.  Of 
such  material  the  American  Republic  could  not 
be  built. 

What  Victor  Hugo  says  of  the  French  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  applies  to  Romanism  in  all  na- 
tions : 

"  You  want  us  to  give  you  the  people  to  in- 
struct," he  said.  "Very  well.  Let  us  see  your 
pupils.  Let  us  see  those  you  have  produced. 
What  have  you  done  for  Italy?  What  have  you 
done  for  Spain?  Italy,  which  taught  mankind 
to  read,  now  knows  not  how  to  read.  Yes,  Italy 
is,  of  all  the  States  of  Europe,  that  where  the 
smallest  number  know  how  to  read !  Spain, 
thanks  to  you,  rests  under  a  yoke  of  stupor,  which 
is  a  yoke  of  degradation  and  decay.  Spain  has 
lost  the  secret  power  it  obtained  from  the  Ro- 


THE  OLD  CHURCHES  INADEQUATE.          71 

mans,  the  genius  of  art  it  had  from  the  Arabs,  the 
world  (of  America)  it  had  from  God ;  and  in  ex- 
change for  all  that  you  have  made  it  lose,  it  has 
received  from  you  the  Inquisition" 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  was  handi- 
capped by  being  a  part  of  the  British  State;  and, 
as  a  consequence,  when  the  one  relinquished  its 
grasp  upon  the  Colonies,  the  other  drifted  away 
in  a  dismantled,  helpless  condition.  And  then 
everything  pertaining  to  the  English  hierarchy 
was  old,  formal,  worn-out,  and  unsuited  to  the 
spirit  of  a  Nation  which  was  just  springing  into 
independence  and  power.  It  was  weighted  down 
by  a  long-drawn-out  creed  which  no  one  pre- 
tended to  understand  ;  it  was  worked  by  the  ma- 
chinery of  a  stiff  ritual,  partly  religious  and  partly 
political — an  unholy  alliance  of  Church  and 
State — and,  still  worse,  it  had  no  aggressive  evan- 
gelizing power. 

The  essential  element  of  the  gospel — the  spir- 
itual regeneraticn  of  the  soul — it  had  lost  sight 
of,  and  for  this  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  had  sub- 
stituted the  ordinance  of  water  baptism,  and  in- 
vented a  ceremony  or  sacrament  called  confirma- 
tion. Nothing  better  could  have  been  devised  to. 
fill  the  Church  with  unregenerate  people.  Be- 
cause prayer  is  not  the  "vital  breath"  of  the 
unconverted,  to  accommodate  such  persons  and 
help  them  keep  up  the  form  of  religion,  a  se- 
ries of  prayers  were  written  out,  which  they  might 
memorize  or  read.  Considered  as  old  wine,  it  was 


72  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

not  according  to  the  order  of  Providence,  nor 
agreeable  to  the  nature  of  things,  that  it  should 
be  put  into  a  new  bottle.  It  was  therefore  well, 
when  the  Colonies  revolted  against  the  mother 
country,  that  the  Episcopal  clergy  of  Virginia, 
Maryland,  New  York,  Boston,  and  other  places, 
left  their  people  and  returned  home;  for  there 
was  nothing  here  which  they,  as  British  subjects, 
could  do.  Rankin,  Boardman,  and  Pillmore,  Wes- 
ley's missionaries,  did  well  to  follow  their  ex- 
ample. As  Asbury  came  to  stay,  and  had  become 
thoroughly  American,  he  did  well  to  remain. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  the  Congregational 
and  Presbyterian  Churches  were  in  an  excellent 
position,  by  co-operation,  to  take  the  country 
and  mold  its  institutions.  Both  Churches  had 
acted  a  brave  and  noble  part  in  the  war,  as  well 
as  in  the  councils  of  the  infant  Republic,  and  both 
were  led  by  a  learned  and  exemplary  ministry. 
But  in  the  fact  that  they  did  not,  we  have  proof 
that  they  could  not,  do  it.  The  peculiar  elements 
essential  to  religious  conquests  they  did  not  pos- 
sess. The  mold  in  which  they  had  been  cast  was 
on  the  other  side  of  the  sea,  and  they  did  not  fit 
the  new  condition  of  things  in  this  country.  The 
Congregation alists  had  brought  with  them  some- 
thing of  the  tyranny  they  fled  from  in  the  Old 
World,  and  the  Presbyterians  made  conspicu- 
ously manifest  the  stamp  of  the  Scotch-Irish  na- 
tionality; and  then  both  Churches  were  weighted 
down  to  the  sinking  point  by  a  Confession  of  Faith 


THE  OLD  CHURCHES  INADEQUATE.          73 

which  belonged  to  a  departed  age,  and  which  pos- 
sessed elements  the  most  revolting  lhat  were 
ever  formulated  by  the  misguided  hand  of  man. 
Instinctively  the  human  heart  recoils  from  the 
dogma  that  a  God  of  truth,  justice,  and  love  cre- 
ated a  large  part  of  the  human  family  that  he 
might  enjoy  the  "  good  pleasure "  of  damning 
them  to  all  eternity.  The  keenest  edge  this  doc- 
trine can  carry  is  seen  when  applied  to  the  dam- 
nation of  infants.  The  wonder  is,  as  seen  in  the 
light  of  this  age,  that  any  Church  holding  to  such 
doctrines  could  meet  with  any  success  among  in- 
telligent people. 

Besides,  these  Churches  had  not  only  to  carry 
the  burthen  of  such  a  creed,  they  had,  except  in 
rare  cases,  lost  sight  of  the  doctrine  of  the  spirit- 
ual regeneration  of  the  soul,  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit,  and  adoption  into  the  family  of  God.  A  large 
part  of  the  ministry  and  membership  regarded  as 
a  heresy — a  something  wicked,  presumptuous,  and 
of  the  devil — the  idea  that  a  man  should  profess 
to  know  that  his  sins  were  forgiven.  At  this  time 
the  great  revivals  which  had  swept  over  New 
England,  under  the  labors  of  Edwards  and  White- 
field,  had  spent  their  force,  and  a  deadly  reaction 
had  followed.  The  tone  and  temper  of  the  peo- 
ple had  become  prepared  for  the  ingress  of  Uni- 
tarianism,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely 
touch  and  vital  breath  of  Methodism  it  is  quite 
certain  that  but  few  orthodox  Congregational 
Churches  would  exist  in  New  England  to-day. 

7 


74  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

With  the  decline  of  spiritual  Christianity,  the 
morals  of 'the  people  had  terribly  suffered.  The 
testimony  is  that,  in  staid  New  England,  "vast 
numbers,  young  and  old,  male  and  female,  are 
given  to  intemperance;"  "the  drinking  habits  of 
all  classes,  ministers  included,  hung  like  a  dead 
weight  upon  the  Churches."  "Licentiousness  for 
some  years  had  greatly  prevailed  among  the 
youth."  "The  clergy  of  Virginia,  following  the 
style  of  many  in  England,  were  morally  low,  and 
the  people  lower  still."  Bishop  Meade  said:  "As 
to  the  unworthy,  hireling  clergy  of  the  Colony, 
there  was  no  ecclesiastical  discipline  to  correct  or 
punish  their  irregularities  and  vices;"  "all  notori- 
ous vices  were  committed,  so  that  it  had  become 
a  Sodom  of  uncleanness  and  a  pest-house  of  in- 
iquity." In  these  sickening  and  lamentable  facts 
we  may  see  in  part  the  reason  why  these  Churches 
were  not  adequate  to  meet  the  spiritual  wants  of 
the  new  Nation. 

The  Baptist  Church  is  a  worthy  body  of  peo- 
ple. The  crime  of  persecution  does  not  stain  its 
raiment — at  least  in  this  country.  It  has  ever 
held  tenaciously  to  the  doctrine  of  the  spiritual 
regeneration  of  the  soul.  An  unholy  alliance 
with  the  world  and  the  spirit  of  the  world  it  has 
never  sought.  It  possesses  elements  of  great 
strength,  especially  with  the  common  people.  It 
could  not,  however,  meet  the  spiritual  wants  of 
the  American  Republic.  Calvinism,  conjoined 
with  close  communion,  does  not  accord  with  the 


THE  OLD  CHURCHES  INADEQUATE.          75 

sentiment  that  all  men  were  created  equal,  and 
endowed  with  the  same  fundamental  rights — 
among  which  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.  The  element  of  aggressiveness  is 
lacking  in  its  form  of  Church  government.  The 
faith  prevalent  among  the  laity  that  immersion  is 
the  only  authorized  mode  of  baptism,  has  served 
as  a  bond  of  union,  and  has  proved  to  be  an  ele- 
ment of  strength.  This  Church  has  been  favored 
with  the  services  of  great,  scholarly,  and  noble 
men.  In  the  missionary  field  it  has  acted  a  very 
worthy  part.  Excluding  the  half-civilized  anti- 
mission  Baptists,  the  Church  has  been  true  to 
temperance  and  to  the  cause  of  education.  Never- 
theless it  never  felt  the  impulse  of  a  deep  and 
abiding  conviction  that  it  was  called,  whilst  yet  in 
its  swaddling  clothes,  to  supply  a  new  Nation  with 
the  pure  gospel  of  Christ.  Through  its  own  devo- 
tion to  duty,  aided  by  emigration,  it  has  done  for 
our  country  and  for  the  world  a  noble  work,  and 
we  can  but  wish  it  Godspeed. 

The  Lutheran  Church  in  America  was,  to  be- 
gin with,  but  a  segment  of  German  life  among 
us — un-American  in  thought,  feeling,  and  spirit; 
and  not  till  the  third  or  fourth  generation  did  its 
members  become  thorough-going  citizens.  And 
even  to  this  day,  in  some  places,  Lutheran  minis- 
ters are  uniting  with  the  Jesuits  to  cripple  and 
destroy  our  common  schools.  The  stability  and 
strength  of  the  Nation  demand  that  we  be  a 
homogeneous  people;  that  all  persons,  who  enjoy 


76  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

the  benefits  of  this  country  and  this  Government, 
be  American  in  spirit.  The  parents  who  deny  to 
their  children  the  right  and  privilege  of  learning 
and  using  the  English  language,  should  be  re- 
garded as  traitors,  and  perhaps  banished  from  the 
country.  There  seems  to  be  a  fear  that  if  the 
children  are  not  shut  up  within  the  inclosure  of 
the  German  language,  they  will  cease  to  be 
Germans  and  Lutherans.  Such  a  religion  may 
do  for  Germany,  but  in  this  country  it  is  an 
exotic — it  is  as  old  wine,  fit  only  for  an  old 
bottle. 

Let  us  now  glance  at  Methodism,  as  "new 
wine  for  a  new  bottle."  As  we  have  seen,  Meth- 
odism spontaneously  appeared  in  three  different 
sections  of  the  country  amidst  the  opening  scenes 
of  the  Revolutionary  War.  There  were,  in  1765, 
as  far  as  known,  but  eight  Methodists  in  America; 
but  these,  each  in  his  own  way  and  acting  upon 
his  personal  responsibility,  was  successfully  en- 
gaged in  revival  work.  In  1769,  John  King,  an 
English  local  preacher,  appeared  in  Baltimore, 
and  on  his  own  responsibility,  preached  the  gos- 
pel, using  for  a  pulpit  a  blacksmith's  anvil-block. 
His  topic  was  the  necessity  of  conversion,  and  the 
doctrine  appeared  to  the  people  to  be  a  new  gos- 
pel. The  next  day  he  preached  to  a  great  crowd 
in  the  open  air,  standing  on  a  table.  King,  in 
Baltimore,  is  but  a  duplicate  of  Strawbridge  on 
Sam's  Creek.  An  evangelizing  force,  hitherto  un- 
known it  appears,  has  smitten  the  people,  and  the 


THE  OLD  CHURCHES  INADEQUATE.         77 

workmen  are  but  working  out  the  fire  that  burns 
within  them. 

In  1768  the  news  reached  England  that  some 
sparks  of  Methodist  fire  had  crossed  the  ocean, 
and  falling  in  different  places,  had  created  a  great 
flame  on  this  continent.  This  information  was 
hailed  with  the  greatest  delight  in  all  Methodist 
circles.  "Come  over  and  help  us"  was  the  new 
Macedonian  cry.  As  Wesley  could  not  see  his 
"helpers"  till  the  approaching  Conference,  Robert 
Williams,  a  local  preacher,  hastened  to  this  coun- 
try, and  landed  in  New  York  in  October,  1769. 
He  was  one  of  the  bright  and  scholarly  men  of 
that  day.  After  receiving  a  little  training  under 
Embury  in  New  York,  and  King  and  Strawbridge 
in  Baltimore,  he  hastened  to  Norfolk,  Virginia; 
and  as  the  fruit  of  a  single  sermon,  preached  from 
the  steps  of  the  court-house,  souls  were  converted, 
and  a  society  organized.  The  same  year,  Board- 
man  and  Pilmoor  were  sent  by  Mr.  Wesley  to  this 
country  as  missionaries;  and  they  were  followed, 
in  1771,  by  the  plain  but  great  and  marvelous 
Francis  Asbury,  as  Mr.  Wesley's  assistant.  He 
called  the  scattered  flock  together  in  Philadelphia, 
in  1773,  and  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
American  Methodism,  took  an  account  of  stock. 
There  were  present  ten  preachers,  and  they  re- 
ported a  membership  of  1,160.  Notwithstanding 
the  mutterings  of  the  coming  war,  in  1775,  the 
number  of  preachers — most  of  them  raised  upon 
the  soil — had  increased  to  24,  and  the  laymen  to 


78  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

4,921.  With  scarcely  an  exception,  this  member- 
ship was  composed  of  new-born  souls,  not  emi- 
grants from  the  old  world — "new  wine  for  the 
new  bottle." 

The  war  was  at  hand,  and  Wesley's  "Calm 
Address"  to  the  Colonies  was  full  of  sympathy 
for  King  George,  as  well  as  for  the  people  ot 
this  country;  and  for  a  time  it  embarrassed  the 
preachers,  as  the  patriots  were  jealous  of  every 
person  who  had  any  connection  with  England. 
Wesley's  missionaries,  Asbury  excepted,  returned 
to  England;  but  Owen  (the  first  native  Method- 
ist preacher),  Watters,  Strawbridge,  King,  Garrett- 
son,  Gatch,  Dickins,  Haggarty,  Dromgoole,  Webster, 
and  other  native  preachers,  kept  the  field,  went 
freely  from  Colony  to  Colony,  and  their  labors 
were  greatly  blest.  Nowhere  in  the  country  was 
another  such  an  evangelizing  force  to  be  found. 
Such  was  the  growth  of  Methodism,  in  spite  of 
the  war,  that,  at  the  Christmas  Conference  held 
in  Baltimore,  1784,  there  were  reported  85  itin- 
erant preachers,  several  hundred  useful  local 
preachers  and  exhorters,  and  14,988  members. 
Though  Asbury  was  in  retirement  during  the 
first  years  of  the  war,  yet  order  and  system  every- 
where prevailed. 

All  the  old  Churches  had  suffered  a  terrible 
declension.  In  Virginia  alone,  out  of  ninety-five 
parishes,  twenty-three  had  wholly  disappeared. 
The  Congregational  and  Presbyterian  Churches 
had  fared  no  better.  In  1785  the  itinerant  force 


THE  OLD  CHURCHES  INADEQUATE,          79 

of  Methodism  was   104;    members,   18,000.     The 
other  Churches  were  just  beginning  to  rally. 

Can  there  be  two  opinions  in  regard  to  the  sig- 
nificance of  these  facts?  Is  the  birth  of  the  new 
Nation  more  marvelous  than  the  spontaneous  rise 
of  Methodism  in  its  midst  at  the  same  time?  Let 
it  not  be  forgotten  that  its  members  were  new-born 
souls,  not  emigrants.  Did  not  the  good  of  the 
Nation  demand  this  revival  work  more  than  any- 
thing else?  Was  it  not  the  one  thing  needful? 


"£JTHE  rise  of  Methodism  was  the  birth  of  a  spiritual  re- 
form of  which  all  Christian  denominations  of  Great  Brit- 
ain and  America  were  in  desperate  need.  ...  It  was  a  re- 
enforcement  of  Apostolic  Christianity  also,  in  every  other 
Christian  denomination  in  the  English-speaking  nations  and 
colonies.  We  have  all  felt  the  throb  of  its  pulsations.  It  has 
been  what  new  blood  is  to  falling  dynasties  and  decadent 
races."  — PHEI.PS. 

So 


CHAPTER  IV. 

METHODISM,  BY  A  SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE,  RAISED 
UP  SIMULTANEOUSLY  WITH  THE  NATION,  TO  BE 
TO  IT  AS  "  NEW  WINE  IN  A  NEW  BOTTLE." 

WHERE  are  we  to  look  for  the  hiding  of  God's 
power  among  the  Methodists  during  the 
throes  of  the  Revolutionary  War?  Throughout 
all  those  years  of  agony  the  preachers  were  able 
to  keep  the  field,  travel  everywhere,  and  hold  to- 
gether the  growing  societies  they  had  planted. 
All  the  old  and  well-established  Churches  of  the 
country  were  practically  paralyzed,  and  many 
local  organizations  blotted  out  of  existence;  but 
Methodism  spontaneously  developed  on  the  soil, 
though  in  an  unorganized  condition,  without  an 
ordained  ministry,  without  the  sacraments  of  re- 
ligion, hardly  venturing  to  call  itself  a  Church, 
triumphed  in  every  place,  and,  under  its  deepen- 
ing and  widening  influence,  the  life  and  power  of 
religion  prevailed.  A  multitude  of  souls  were 
converted  and  new  Churches  organized.  As  Meth- 
odism proved  to  be  superior  to  the  disturbances  of 
the  country,  and  marched  forward  from  one  con- 
quest to  another,  why  did  not  the  other  Churches 
do  the  same  ?  Such  are  the  undisputed  facts  of 
history,  and  they  must  mean  something.  Is  it 

not  clear  that  a  new  element  of  religious  life  had 

81 


82  OUR  CO  UNTR  Y  AND  ME  T HOD  ISM. 

been  introduced  into  society?  Though  small  as 
a  mustard-seed,  it  attracted  attention  even  then ; 
but  the  full  significance  of  the  new  movement  can 
be  understood  only  as  we  examine  its  later  develop- 
ments. This  much  was  apparent  then,  even  to 
the  casual  observer,  that  a  new  evangelizing 
Church  was  rising  on  the  soil  of  America  to  be 
the  conservator  of  the  religious  interests  of  a  new 
nation. 

When  Asbury  came  to  this  country  he  was  a 
young  man.  He  came  to  stay,  and  his  plastic 
nature  was  taking  form.  In  sympathy  and  inter- 
est he  became  as  thoroughly  American  as  Garrett- 
son  or  any  of  the  native  preachers.  Happily 
Rankin,  and  nearly  the  entire  foreign  element  of 
Methodism  present  at  the  beginning  of  hostilities, 
took  their  departure  for.  England  and  returned 
no  more.  It  is  not  to  be  regretted  that  Bishop 
Coke,  great,  good,  and  beloved  as  he  was,  after 
the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  1784 — the  special  work  he  came  to 
America  to  perform — was  called  to  other  fields  of 
labor,  leaving  to  American  Methodism  the  free- 
dom of  a  spontaneous  development. 

As  the  Wesleys  never  emancipated  themselves 
from  the  Anglican  Church,  nor  from  the  notion  of 
the  union  of  Church  and  State,  it  was  well  for 
American  Methodism  that  neither  of  them  visited 
this  continent  at  this  time.  The  new  bottle  must 
be  filled  with  new  wine. 

The    following    sharp    distinction    should    be 


A  SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE.  83 

made  between  the  mission  and  labors  of  Luther 
and  Wesley.  Luther  carried  on,  in  parallel  lines, 
two  kinds  and  orders  of  work.  He  first  leveled 
all  his  guns  against  the  corruptions  of  the  papacy, 
and  later  against  the  whole  Roman  hierarchy. 
He  also  labored  to  keep  before  the  country  the 
great  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  and  the 
spiritualities  of  a  pure  Christianity.  More  than 
half  his  life  and  strength  were,  however,  spent  in 
combating  Romanism.  As  a  result,  the  Reforma- 
tion before  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century 
had  spent  its  force,  and  a  reaction  set  in. 

Wesley  took  in  hand  but  one  work,  the  con- 
version of  the  soul;  and  the  conversion  of  the 
soul  he  made  the  soul  of  Methodism.  Not  a  word 
but  that  of  kindness  and  charity  had  he  to  say  of 
the  Anglican  Church,  or  of  the  Dissenting  bodies 
of  England  or  America.  It  matters  not  what 
Churches  exist,  there  are  always  coming  to  ma- 
turity and  presenting  themselves  persons  who 
need  the  regenerating  power  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  "He  came  to  seek  and  save  that  which 
was  lost,"  and  Wesley  imitated  his  example  in 
this  respect.  In  letting  popery  alone,  and  raising 
up  another  people,  inspired  by  a  true  evangelism, 
he  did  more  to  circumvent  and  render  powerless 
the  Roman  hierarchy  than  even  Luther  himself. 
At  the  same  time  the  revival,  in  which  he  acted 
so  commanding  a  part,  continues  with  unabated 
force  to  this  day,  and  is  yet  spreading  rapidly 
throughout  the  world. 


84  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

The  Methodists  of  America  followed,  in  this 
respect,  the  example  of  Wesley  to  the  very  letter. 
They  kept  up  such  an  incessant  attack  upon  the 
devil  and  his  works  that  they  had  no  time  for  any- 
thing else.  The  shout  of  a  converted  soul  brought 
them  their  supreme  delight.  When  attacked  they 
defended  their  doctrines,  and  the  same  Calvinist 
seldom  entered  the  arena  a  second  time.  They 
assailed  none,  neither  did  they  ask  any  favors. 

In  this  respect  our  fathers  may  have  been  di- 
rected by  a  deeper  leading  than  they  knew.  Ot- 
terbein,  of  the  German  Reformed  Church,  a  man 
of  deep  piety,  well-known  and  beloved  as  a 
brother  by  Asbury,  and  very  successful  in  his 
ministry  among  the  German  population,  proposed 
to  find  a  home  for  himself  and  his  flock  in  the 
newly-organized  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Asbury,  utterly  destitute  of  ecclesiastical  ambi- 
tion, doubted  the  propriety  of  the  step.  Will 
there  be  a  perfect  blending  of  the  two  bodies, 
making  one — one  in  doctrine,  usage,  and  sympa- 
thy? He  knew  that  the  lion  and  the  lamb  could 
lie  down  together  in  peace  and  unity,  only  as  the 
lion  ate  and  assimilated  the  lamb.  He  finally 
persuaded  Otterbein  that  he  had  better  organize 
his  German  brethren  into  a  Church  by  themselves, 
as  the  means  of  securing  the  greater  unity  and 
usefulness.  Taking  the  Methodist  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline as  his  guide,  he  founded  the  United  Breth- 
ren Church,  and  raised  up  a  devoted,  zealous,  and 
spiritual  people. 


A  SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE.  85 

Some  years  later  when,  as  the  result  of  a  great 
revival — one  of  the  most  remarkable  this  country 
ever  experienced — in  the  Cumberland  country, 
Kentucky,  some  hundreds  of  Presbyterians, 
preachers  and  laymen,  finding  themselves  not  in 
harmony  with  the  old  Scotch-Irish  Calvinistic  el- 
ement of  the  Church,  proposed  to  unite  as  a  body 
with  the  Methodist  Church,  which,  as  a  young  gi- 
ant, was  then  sweeping  through  the  great  West, 
after  the  most  prayerful  deliberation,  the  offer 
was  kindly  and  respectfully  declined.  Fully  be- 
lieving that  Methodism,  pure  and  simple,  was 
from  God,  they  felt  it  to  be  their  duty  to  transmit 
it  to  posterity  as  such.  As  the  pure  wine  of  the 
kingdom,  it  must  not  be  diluted. 

In  the  West  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
Church  was  organized  of  these  elements.  With- 
out any  regard  to  logical  consistency,  a  part 
of  Calvinism  was  retained  and  a  part  thrown 
away.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  in  both 
these  cases  a  heterogeneous  and  disturbing  ele- 
ment was  kept  out  of  Methodism,  and  it  was  left 
free  to  work  itself  out  in  its  own  way  for  the  con- 
version of  souls.  Had  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  been  eager  to  multiply  its  numbers,  these 
offers  would  not  have  been  declined.  It  wisely 
preferred  the  fresh  juice  of  the  grape  that  had 
never  been  bottled. 

Nor  must  we  fail  to  express  our  gratitude  to 
God  that  Mr.  Wesley  did  not  succeed  in  the  re- 
peated attempts  he  made  to  induce  the  Anglican 


86  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

bishop  of  London  to  ordain  elders  who  might  be 
sent  to  America  to  administer  the  sacraments  to 
the  Methodist  people.  Wesley  acted  from  one 
motive,  the  purest  that  could  actuate  the  human 
heart,  the  English  prelate  from  another,  and  God 
from  another;  and,  thank  God!  we  are  the  chil- 
dren of  Providence.  In  his  purpose  to  raise  up 
in  America,  out  of  American  soil,  a  Church  to 
conserve  American  interests,  God  had  Wesley 
and  Coke,  and  he  was  not  dependent  upon  an  En- 
glish bishop.  This  fact,  in  noonday  light,  at  last 
dawned  upon  the  mind  of  Wesley. 

It  can  not  be  doubted  that  the  lessons  of  the 
Seven  Years'  War,  with  the  intense  discussions  of 
political  principles  which  grew  out  of  it,  and  the 
laying  of  the  foundation  of  a  new  Nation,  evidently 
destined  to  become  one  of  the  greatest  on  the  face 
of  the  earth,  went  down  deep  into  the  minds  of  the 
early  Methodist  preachers.  The  men  of  Method- 
ism, in  proportion  to  their  number,  were  in  abil- 
ity equal  to  the  men  of  the  State.  They  derived 
nothing  from  prestige  or  position ;  and  yet  from 
the  stump,  the  empty  dry  goods-box,  a  wagon- 
box,  or  any  place  where  there  were  people  ready 
to  hear  the  gospel  preached,  they  commanded  at- 
tention. Benjamin  Abbot  drew  together  larger 
audiences  than  were  wont  to  listen  to  Whitefield ; 
his  ministry  was  attended  with  greater  power,  and 
resulted  in  more  conversions.  Freeborn  Garretson, 
a  wealthy  son  of  the  soil,  moved  from  place  to 
place  with  an  eagle's  flight  and  with  the  courage 


A  SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE.  87 

of  a  lion.  In  Maryland  he  was  mobbed  and  im- 
prisoned, and  on  another  occasion  he  was  beaten 
almost  to  death  with  a  club  by  a  magistrate  for 
nothing  but  the  crime  of  being  a  Methodist 
preacher.  Pedicord  carried  to  the  grave  the  scars 
of  the  wounds  he  received  from  a  beating  in  the 
public  highway,  and  Joseph  Hartley,  robbed  of  his 
horse  and  thrust  into  jail,  preached  from  behind 
the  bars  to  the  crowds  which  came  to  hear  him, 
and  started  a  gracious  revival  of  religion  in  the 
street.  The  sufferings  of  the  soldiers  at  Valley 
Forge  were  not  greater  than  those  which  the 
Methodist  preachers  endured  during  the  long  war; 
nor  did  the  soldiers'  sufferings  more  fully  identify 
them  with  the  independence,  honor,  and  glory  of 
their  country  than  did  the  sufferings  of  those 
preachers  identify  them.  But  the  deep  and 
special  baptism  they  had  received  constrained 
them  to  do  and  to  suffer  cheerfully  for  the  souls 
of  men  and  for  the  spiritual  good  of  the  new- 
born Nation.  When  they  saw  that  persecutions 
really  forwarded  the  work,  it  but  inspired  them 
to  rush  in  where  dangers  were  the  thickest  and 
labors  the  most  severe.  They  remembered  the 
man  of  Calvary,  and  the  example  of  the  Wesleys 
in  Cornwall  had  its  inspiring  effect.  Among  the 
heroes  of  the  Revolutionary  period  should  also  be 
mentioned  the  names  of  Watters,  Gatch,  Abbott, 
Mann,  Lee,  Dickins,  Dromgoole,  Coughlan,  Mc- 
Geary,  Black,  and  many  others.  Whatever  people 
might  think  of  the  religion  they  preached,  or  of 


88  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

their  fiery  zeal,  their  commanding  ability  chal- 
lenged respect. 

Though  the  organization  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Baltimore  in  1784  was  the 
work  of  a  little  band  of  penniless  men,  yet  it  was 
in  importance  hardly  second  to  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  in  Philadelphia,  July  4,  1776.  So 
felt  Asbury,  Coke,  and  the  other  far-seeing  men 
who  had  a  hand  in  the  work.  After  that  day 
these  men  were  on  their  feet,  ready  for  any  emer- 
gency. They  had  a  head,  an  organization,  and 
order.  Washington  was  not  more  loved  and 
trusted  by  his  officers  in  the  army  than  was 
Asbury  by  his  preachers  on  horseback.  Entirely 
cut  loose  from  England,  they  were  intensely 
American.  They  realized  the  immensity  of  the 
work  before  them  and  their  own  insufficiency,  but 
they  constantly  felt  the  spur  and  the  sacred  in- 
spiration of  great  success.  They  loved  the  gospel, 
which  everywhere  was  the  power  of  God  unto  the 
salvation  of  every  one  that  believeth. 

General  Washington  was  inaugurated  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  in  New  York,  May  29, 
1789,  a  little  more  than  five  years  after  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The 
membership  then  reported  was  43,265,  being  an 
increase  in  four  years  of  about  29,000  souls.  A 
Methodist  Conference  being  in  session  in  the  city 
at  the  time,  Bishops  Asbury  and  Coke  were  both 
in  attendance.  As  the  representatives  of  Ameri- 
can Methodism,  in  obedience  to  the  warm  and 


A  SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE.  89 

absolute  loyalty  of  the  Church  to  the  young  Re- 
public and  its  distinguished  President,  the  two 
bishops  waited  upon  Washington  at  his  lodgings, 
congratulated  him  and  the  country  on  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution,  and  pledged  to  him  and 
to  the  country  the  prayers  and  the  support  of  the 
Methodist  people.  Washington  gracefully  ac- 
cepted these  words  of  encouragement,  and  gave 
to  the  bishops  his  cordial  thanks  for  their  visit. 
This  act  of  the  rapidly  growing  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  came  from  the  heart,  but  it  had  not 
the  least  political  significance.  This  union  of 
sympathy  was  the  only  union  which  would  be  tol- 
erated for  a  moment  on  either  side.  It  was  in- 
tended that  the  Americanism  of  Methodism  should 
speak  on  this  occasion  with  an  emphasis  which 
would  last  for  all  time,  and  never  need  to  be  re- 
peated. Seventy-two  years  later,  however,  the 
New  York  East  Conference  was  in  session  when 
treason  lifted  up  its  head  and  opened  fire  on  Fort 
Sumter;  and  on  the  instant  a  resolution  was 
passed,  pledging  to  President  Lincoln  and  the 
Government  the  loyal  support  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  Four  years  later,  when  Lee 
surrendered  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  this 
same  Conference,  being  in  session,  was  the  first 
religious  body  to  telegraph  President  Lincoln  con- 
gratulations on  the  downfall  of'  the  Rebellion. 
The  Americanism  of  Methodism,  President  Lin- 
coln expressed  in  the  following  words:  "Nobly 
sustained  as  the  Government  has  been  by  all  the 


go  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

Churches,  I  would  utter  nothing  which  might  in 
the  least  appear  invidious  in  any  way.  Yet,  with- 
out this,  it  may  be  fairly  said  that  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  not  less  devoted  than  the  best, 
is,  by  its  greater  numbers,  the  most  important  of 
all.  It  is  no  fault  in  others  that  the  Methodist 
Church  sends  more  soldiers  to  the  field,  more 
nurses  to  the  hospital,  and  more  prayers  to  heaven 
than  any  other.  God  bless  the  Methodist  Church ! 
bless  all  the  Churches!  and  blessed  be  God,  who, 
in  this  our  great  trial,  giveth  us  the  Churches!" 
Asbury  and  Coke  were  intimate  with  Washing- 
ton— they  had  been  his  guests  at  Mount  Vernon; 
and  Bishop  Simpson  was  one  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
most  trusted  confidential  advisers  during  the  war. 
The  new  wine  has  never  ceased  to  act  upon  the 
new  bottle,  and  preserve  it. 

But  we  must  keep  firmly  in  mind  the -great 
central  truth  that  the  primal  power  of  Methodism 
is  found  in  the  fact  that  it  is  a  revelation  and  a 
proclamation  of  spiritual  life  to  men  who  were 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  Christianity  utterly 
fails  to  reach  its  end  when  devoted  to  the  care  of 
some  great,  complicated,  ecclesiastical  establish- 
ment. Personal  contact  of  the  preacher  or  lay- 
man with  the  individual  soul  of  the  sinner  is 
necessary  to  successful  work,  and  all  attempts  to 
convert  men  by  the  use  of  Church  machinery  will 
result  in  failure.  Let  the  Church  be  constantly 
supplied  with  new-born  souls — "lively  stones," 
St.  Peter  calls  them — and  as  the  result  of  their 


A  SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE.  91 

incorporation  in  the  body,  it  will  enjoy  a  perpetual 
and  healthy  development.  Church  legislation 
will  have  but  little  to  do  except  to  conserve  ac- 
complished facts  and  adjust  its  work  for  future 
conquests. 

Some  half-dozen  Methodists,  acting  on  their 
individual  responsibility  to  their  Master,  without 
a  Church  organization,  without  the  ordinances  of 
religion,  in  eighteen  years,  between  1766  and  1784, 
and  seven  of  these  years,  years  of  war  and  revo- 
lution, brought  to  Christ  as  their  Savior  probably 
not  less  than  twenty  or  twenty-five  thousand  souls, 
and  preached  the  gospel  to  a  half-million  or  more 
people;  at  the  same  time  they  thrust  out  into 
the  field  as  itinerant  preachers,  local  preachers, 
and  exhorters,  some  hundreds  of  laborers.  With 
living  stones  to  build  with,  it  is  a  very  simple  and 
easy  matter  to  organize  a  Church,  as  the  Christ- 
mas Conference  of  1784  demonstrated;  and  what 
is  needed  for  all  time  is  revival  work,  powerful 
convictions  of  sin,  followed  by  clear  conversions 
and  an  active  membership.  The  influence  of  the 
presence  of  such  an  evangelizing  force  among  the 
people,  acting  as  energetically  on  the  border  as  in 
the  centers  of  civilization,  must  be  imagined,  for 
it  eludes  a  complete  description. 

Thirteen  years  passed  from  the  time  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  till  Washington  was 
inaugurated  President,  and  during  that  time  the 
seeds  of  French  and  English  infidelity  had  been 
sown  broadcast  over  all  the  land;  and  the  most 


92  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

vigorous  counteracting  influence  it  met  was  the 
spiritual  preaching  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  by 
these  evangelists,  resulting  in  the  conversion  of  a 
multitude  of  souls,  and  the  revival  of  spiritual 
Christianity  in  other  Churches. 

How  Methodism  prosecuted  its  particular  work 
may  be  seen  from  the  following  picture  of  the 
activities  of  Mr.  Asbury,  as  given  by  Mr.  Daniels 
in  his  History  of  Methodism:  "During  the  last 
half  of  the  war  period,  Asbury,  having  outlived 
the  suspicions  of  the  patriots,  was  permitted  to 
resume  his  place  as  the  general  of  the  itinerant 
forces,  in  which  he  displayed  abilities  of  the 
highest  order — patience,  persistence,  indifference 
to  personal  suffering,  the  power  of  combination 
and  systematic  arrangement,  and  a  consummate 
judgment  of  men — just  those  qualities  which  the 
situation  demanded  of  a  pioneer  bishop,  who  was 
called  upon  to  manage  a  diocese  reaching  from 
Jersey  to  Florida,  from  the  coast  to  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  and  over  them;  some  portions  of  which 
were  occupied  by  hostile  armies,  and  the  whole 
of  it  suffering  from  the  poverty  and  commotion 
of  a  long  and  exasperating  war. 

"As  soon  as  it  was  possible,  Asbury  organized 
the  whole  Methodist  work  into  one  great  circuit, 
which,  with  incredible  toil  and  in  spite  of  fre- 
quent illness,  he  compassed  once  and  sometimes 
twice  in  a  year.  The  reader  of  his  Journals  is 
bewildered  with  the  rapidity  of  his  movements; 
but  through  them  all  the  tireless,  invincible  apos- 


A  SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE.  93 

tie  appears,  planning  grandly  and  as  grandly  ex- 
ecuting his  plans ;  raising  up  hosts  of  preachers, 
forming  new  Churches,  new  circuits,  and  new 
Conferences ;  extending  his  dominion  to  all  points 
of  the  compass,  till  it  becomes,  before  his  death, 
as  extensive  as  the  Nation. 

"He  traveled  the  wilderness  of  the  South  and 
West,  sometimes  being  compelled  to  use  two 
horses,  because  no  one  beast  could  carry  a  man 
all  day  over  the  wretched  bridle-paths  and  across 
the  mountain  torrents — often  incapable  of  fer- 
riage, and  almost  always  wanting  a  bridge.  One 
extract  from  his  Journal  may  be  given:  'We  set 
out  for  Crumps,  over  rocks,  hills  and  creeks  and 
pathless  woods.  The  young  man  with  me  was 
heartless  before  we  had  traveled  a  mile ;  but  when 
he  saw  how  I  could  bush  it,  and  sometimes  force 
my  way  through  a  thicket,  and  make  the  young 
saplings  bend  before  me,  and  twist  and  turn  out 
of  the  path — for  there  was  no  road — he  took 
courage.  With  great  difficulty  we  came  into  the 
settlement  about  two  o'clock,  after  traveling  eight 
or  nine  hours.  The  people  looked  almost  as  wild 
as  the  deer  in  the  woods.' 

"It  was  just  this  Herculean  labor  so  saga- 
ciously bestowed  that  preserved  the  unity  of  the 
scattered  societies.  Asbury  was  everywhere. 
Was  there  a  dispute  among  the  preachers  of  the 
South  over  the  right  to  administer  the  sacra- 
ments? He  was  at  hand  with  cautious  counsels 
to  prevent  an  open  break  with  Mr.  Wesley.  Was 


94  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

a  poor  itinerant  in  trouble  with  the  authorities? 
He  was  ready  with  his  personal  influence  to  protect 
him,  or  with  his  purse  to  pay  his  iniquitous  fine. 
Was  there  a  man  posted  in  an  almost  inaccessible 
region  among  the  mountains?  He  was  seen  to 
pay  a  visit  to  the  outpost  and  cheer  the  lonely 
sentinel  with  his  wise  and  loving  words.  Was 
there  a  little  band  of  adventurous  spirits  planting 
themselves  in  the  wilderness  far  beyond  the  lines 
of  the  frontier?  Asbury  was  sure  to  hear  of 
them,  and  to  run  his  ever-extending  circuit  lines 
so  as  to  take  them  in." 

Local  preachers  and  exhorters  included,  As- 
bury had  under  his  direction  in  1784  at  least  three 
hundred  "helpers,"  occupying  all  the  country  be- 
tween New  York,  Florida,  and  the  Alleghany 
Mountains.  Besides,  every  society  organized  was 
an  outpost  garrison,  ready  to  be  led  forth  by  a 
class-leader,  exhorter,  local  preacher,  or  the  cir- 
cuit, preacher  against  the  enemy  beyond.  Nothing 
was  more  common  than  for  extensive  revivals  to 
be  carried  on  in  the  absence  of  the  regular  preach- 
ers. Among  the  societies  there  may  not  have 
been  much  science  or  literature,  but  every  mem- 
ber knew  what  it  was  to  be  converted,  and, 
guided  by  his  own  experience,  he  could  lead 
others  to  Christ.  The  work  of  the  laity  in  car- 
rying forward  the  triumphs  of  the  gospel  should 
never  be  lost  sight  of  in  taking  the  measure  of 
the  genius  and  mission  of  Methodism. 

It   would    seem    the   people    of  the    Colonial 


A  SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE.  95 

States  were  never  entirely  satisfied  with  their  lo- 
cation, and  the  tide  of  emigration  at  an  early  day 
set  in  for  the  great  but  unknown  West.  The  first 
wave  struck  Alabama,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  and 
Ohio.  It  was  thus  that  Methodist  families  became 
scattered  along  this  border.  Among  them  were 
some  local  preachers,  exhorters,  and  class-leaders. 
Many  of  the  local  preachers  were  men  of  the 
highest  character  and  of  the  first  order  of  ability. 
They  would  have  been  in  the  traveling  connec- 
tion, but  the  support  of  their  families  rendered 
such  service  impossible.  But  with  the  fire  of 
Methodism  burning  in  their  hearts  they  could  not 
be  inactive. 

Until  Wayne's  victory  over  the  Indians  in  In- 
diana, in  1794,  the  savages  were  very  troublesome 
along  the  border,  especially  in  Kentucky  and 
Ohio.  At  the  first  Conferences  held  in  this  re- 
gion, in  response  to  the  roll-call  the  answer  in 
numerous  cases  was,  "Killed  by  the  Indians." 
But  there  was  nothing  that  could  conquer  or 
abate  the  Methodist  spirit. 

In  1798  Francis  McCormick,  from  the  wilds 
of  Western  Virginia,  a  local  preacher,  one  of 
the  purest  and  bravest  spirits  that  ever  lived, 
came  to  Southwestern  Ohio  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  Methodism  in  that  part  of  the  territory. 
He  was  a  typical  pioneer.  Moving  his  family  into 
a  neighborhood  where  there  were  no  Methodists, 
he  went  to  work  for  a  revival,  and  as  soon  as  a 
company  could  be  gathered,  he  sent  for  the  travel- 


96  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

ing  preacher,  when  there  was  one  within  reach. 
His  cabin  was  immediately  opened  for  preaching, 
and  a  flourishing  class  was  regularly  organized  after 
the  first  sermon  was  delivered.  And  McCormick 
was  only  one  among  hundreds  who  engaged  in 
similar  work  and  with  similar  success.  Along  the 
border,  if  within  an  area  of  ten  miles  square  there 
were  three  Methodist  families,  they  would  soon 
know  each  other,  and,  without  a  priest  or  any  human 
authority,  rear  an  altar  in  the  wilderness  to  their 
God.  All,  men  and  women,  young  and  old,  could 
sing  and  pray  and  exhort.  A  revival  was  likely  to 
break  out  in  the  settlement.  Each  one,  from  ex- 
perience, knew  the  way  of  life  and  salvation,  and 
could  point  it  out  to  the  awakened  sinner  as 
clearly  as  they  could  tell  how  to  swing  an  ax  or 
cook  a  steak  of  bear's-meat  or  venison.  It  was 
thus  that  the  scattered  sparks  and  firebrands  of 
Methodism  spontaneously  kindled  a  flame  wher- 
ever they  chanced  to  fall. 

From  the  close  of  the  war  in  1783,  emigration, 
in  a  continuous  stream,  poured  into  the  land  of 
freedom  from  different  parts  of  the  Old  World. 
Popery  received  large  accessions  from  France, 
Germany,  Spain,  and  Ireland ;  the  Presbyterians 
were  greatly  strengthened  by  accessions  from 
Scotland,  Ireland,  and  England;  the  Baptists,  by 
emigration  and  their  zeal  at  home,  had  greatly 
prospered.  For  accessions  of  members  the  Meth- 
odists looked  solely  to  the  fruits  of  their  labors 
among  the  people.  The  following  figures  give 


A  SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE. 


97 


an    approximate    idea    of    the    growth    of    the 
Churches  between  1775  and  1800: 


1775-                    M 
Episcopalians,  .... 

[inisters 
250 
350 

575 
140 
20 

Gain. 

14 
50 
25 
28 

Churches. 
300 
380 
70O 
300 

Communi- 
cants, 1800. 

II.OOO 
100,000     • 
75,000 
40,000 
64,804 

Congregationalists,  .  . 

Methodists. 

The  Old  World  Christians  who  came  to  this 
country  found  old  Churches  as  bottles  suited  to 
their  wants,  ready  to  receive  them ;  whereas  the 
accessions  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
were  the  people  born  on  the  soil,  as  "new  wine 
for  a  new  bottle."  In  the  short  space  of  twenty- 
five  years  a  body  of  ministers,  many  of  them  as 
grand  men  as  God  ever  made,  had  been  brought 
out  of  revivals,  Conferences,  and  circuits  organ- 
ized, reaching  from  Maine  to  Florida,  and  not  less 
than  1,500,000  people  brought  more  or  less  under 
the  influence  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

9 


rare  exceptions,  the  condition  of  the  Churches  all 
over  the  country  was,  that  extensive  revivals  had 
ceased.  From  1750  to  1800  was  a  long  period  of  turmoil  and 
distractions.  The  French  and  Indian  wars;  the  agitations  pre- 
ceding the  Revolution ;  the  evils  of  the  post-bellum  period ;  the 
French  infidelity  and  English  Deism;  the  gross  wicked- 
ness; the  political  controversies,  sharp,  violent,  and  vindic- 
tive, connected  with  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution ; 
the  evil  influences  of  the  French  Revolution,  with  which  so 
many  Americans  sympathized, — are  some  of  the  elements 
which  worked  unfavorably  to  the  cause  of  religion.  The  Wes- 
leyan  Reformation  revived  English,  and  in  due  time  American, 
Christianity.  .  .  .  Methodism  had  become  a  flaming  torch, 
lighting  its  fires  in  every  field.  The  great  revival  of  1800  in- 
augurated a  new  era  in  American  Christianity." 

98  — DORCHESTER. 


CHAPTER  V. 

METHODISM    AND    THE    OLD    CHURCHES    AT    THE 
CI/OSE  OF  THE  REVOLUTIONARY  WAR. 

METHODISM  arose  in  the  New  World,  in- 
vested not  only  with  the  fullness  of  the 
blessings  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  but  it  was  free 
from  all  embarrassments  arising  from  external 
conditions,  or  from  an  unfortunate  past  history. 
For  a  time  suspicions  were  awakened  against  the 
preachers  of  English  origin  by  Mr.  Wesley's 
"Calm  Address"  to  the  Colonies;  but  as  it  be- 
came known  that  this  paper  was  written  before 
hostilities  commenced,  and  that  after  blood  was 
shed  at  Lexington  his  sympathies  and  his  great 
influence  were  with  the  patriots,  all  prejudice 
passed  away. 

The  Methodists  and  Baptists — the  two  great 
denominations  in  the  United  States,  and  the  most 
active  Protestant  bodies  of  Christians  in  the 
world — have  never  denied  themselves  with  the 
crime  of  persecution  for  conscience'  sake.  Such 
a  record  denotes  progress  in  the  world's  history, 
and  it  is  a  cause  for  special  congratulation  and 
gratitude.  The  Wesleys  and  their  coadjutors  in 
England  had  suffered  persecution  in  a  thousand 
ways,  and  it  would  seem  that  their  lives  were 
saved  from  the  fury  of  mobs  only  by  repeated  in- 

99 


100  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

terpositions  of  a  special  providence.  The  Meth- 
odists of  this  country  were  doomed  to  pass  through 
similar  trials  ;  but  their  patience  and  endurance 
demonstrated  that  they  felt  it  was  far  better  to 
suffer  wrong  than  to  do  wrong.  In  its  short  his- 
tory, Methodism  was  not  only  free  from  this  stain, 
but  the  example  it  gave  to  the  world  was  greatly 
to  be  commended.  Considered  as  new  wine,  it 
was  the  pure  juice  of  the  grape. 

Examined  from  this  stand-point  the  Romish 
Church  is  stained  with  the  blood  of  millions. 

The  following,  taken  from  La  Bandara  Cath- 
olica  (The  Catholic  Banner],  printed  in  Barcelona, 
July  29,  1883,  explains  itself,  and  by  contrast  sets 
forth  Methodism,  the  world  over,  in  its  true  light: 

"The  re-establishment  of  the  holy  tribunal  of 
the  Inquisition  must  soon  take  place.  Its  reign 
will  be  more  glorious  and  fruitful  in  results  than 
in  the  past,  and  the  number  of  those  who  will  be 
called  to  suffer  under  it  will  exceed  the  number  of 
the  past.  Our  Catholic  heart  overflows  with  faith 
and  enthusiasm,  and  the  immense  joy  which  we 
experience  as  we  begin  to  reap  the  fruit  of  our 
present  campain  exceeds  all  imagination.  What 
a  day  of  pleasure  will  that  be  for  us  when  we 
see  Freemasons,  Spiritualists,  Freethinkers,  and 
anti-clericals  writhing  in  the  flames  of  the  Inqui- 
sition ! 

"  We  judge  our  esteemed  subscribers  will  read 
with  great  pleasure  the  statistics  respecting  those 
who  suffered  under  the  tribunal  from  the  year 


CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.  IOI 

1481  to  1808,  when  this  so  venerable  an  institu- 
tion was  abolished.  As  our  readers  will  see,  it 
refers  to  Spain  only;  we  are  unable  to  give  the 
numbers  of  those  who  suffered  in  other  countries. 
We  have  believed  it  right  also  to  publish  the  names 
of  these  holy  men,  under  whose  hands  so  many 
sinners  suffered,  that  good  Catholics  may  venerate 
their  memory: 

"By  Torquemada — 

Men  and  women  burnt  alive, 10,220 

Burnt  in  effigy, 6,840 

Condemned  to  other  punishments,  ....    97,371 

"  By  Diego  Deza — 

Men  and  women  burnt  alive 2,592 

Burnt  in  effigy, 829 

Condemned  to  other  punishments,   ....    32,952 

"  By  Cardinal  Jeminez  de  Cieneros — 

Men  and  women  burnt  alive, 3,564 

Burnt  in  effigy, 2,232 

Condemned  to  other  punishments,  .   „   .  .    48,059 

"By  Adrian  de  Florencia — 

Men  and  women  burnt  alive, 1,620 

Burnt  in  effigy, 560 

Condemned  to  other  punishments,  ....    21,834 

"The  Inquisitor  established  the  holy  office  in 
America,  and  in  1522,  as  a  reward  for  the  same, 
he  was  elected  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  on  earth ;  but 
so  did  he  love  his  former  ministry  that  he  did  not 
transfer  it  to  another  until  the  second  year  of  his 
pontificate.  He  'burnt,  during  this  time,  324  per- 


102  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

sons;    and  condemned    to  various   punishments, 
short  of  death,  4,081." 

Total  number  of  in  en  and  women  burnt  alive 
under  the  ministry  of  forty-five  holy  in- 
quisitor-generals,   35.534 

Total  number  burnt  in  effigy, 18,637 

Total  number  condemned  to  other  punish- 
ments,   293,533 


General  total, 347.704 

The  foregoing  foreshadows  the  near  future. 
"Semper  idem" — always  the  same — has  ever  been 
the  motto  of  the  Jesuits,  who,  for  their  merciless 
barbarity  towards  Dissenters  and  their  avowed 
hostility  to  all  governments  not  controlled  by 
them,  have  been  expelled  from  all  the  Nations, 
Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic,  in  the  world, 
save  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  of 
America. 

The  infernal  cruelties  of  the  Inquisition  were 
the  results  of  its  inventive  genius.  From  the 
year  800  to  the  year  1700,  it  thrust  into  dungeons 
and  premature  graves  more  souls  than  it  brought 
into  the  liberty  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Some  of 
the  direst  monsters  of  immorality  that  ever  lived 
had  occupied  the  papal  chair.  It  has  cursed  every 
nation,  where  it  has  ever  existed,  with  ignorance, 
superstition,  and  crime.  All  these  things  are  spread 
out  upon  the  page  of  history,  and  are  well  under- 
stood by  this  Republic.  Had  it  been  the  will  of 
Providence,  we  repeat,  that  America  should  be 
Italy,  Spain,  Ireland,  or  any  Catholic  country,  over 


CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.  103 

again,  or  that  it  should  follow  in  the  wake  of 
Mexico  or  Central  America,  the  papal  hierarchy 
was  in  position  and  well-equipped  to  carry  that 
will  into  effect.  But  the  God  of  Nations  had  in 
store  better  things  for  us,  and  this  moss-covered 
superstition,  at  the  critical  point  of  time,  was 
rendered  powerless.  The  touch  of  its  finger  is 
not  to  be  found  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  Not  a  pulse-beat  nor  a  heart-throb  can 
the  old  and  changeless  papacy  have  in  harmony 
with  the  genius  of  this  Nation.  Its  priests  on 
our  soil  may  at  times,  however,  be  of  great  serv- 
ice in  quelling  mobs  and  restraining  riots.  A 
Catholic  "father,"  with  a  club  in  his  hand,  striking 
right  and  left,  felling  a  brutal,  ignorant  emigrant 
from  the  bogs  of  Ireland  at  every  blow,  is  at  times 
a  useful  citizen.  But  American  civilization,  as  a 
whole,  requires  more  intellectual  and  refined  treat- 
ment. It  is  of  the  political  element  and  the 
spirit  of  Romanism  we  speak;  and  at  the  same 
time,  we  are  glad  to  recognize  the  fact  that  there 
are  many  thousands  of  individual  Catholics  in  this 
country  whose  lives  would  be  an  ornament  to  any 
Church  or  to  any  society. 

In  the  Old  World,  persecution  had  prevailed 
between  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  and  Puri- 
tans, or  Congregationalists,  and  the  three  Churches 
were  marked  with  the  scars  of  the  wounds  they 
had  given  and  received.  Instead  of  being  made 
to  bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose  by  the  peaceable 
gospel  of  Christ,  the  soil  of  Scotland,  Ireland,  and 


104  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

England  had  been  steeped  in  the  blood  of  mar- 
tyrs— much  of  it  the  blood  of  Protestants  shed  by 
themselves.  This  lamentable  fact  may  be  largely 
ascribed  to  the  times  in  which  it  occurred ;  never- 
theless the  fact  remained,  and  could  not  be  ef- 
faced. American  Presbyterianism  is,  so  far  as  we 
know,  free  from  the  sin  of  violent  persecution; 
but  Congregationalism  inflicted,  to  some  extent, 
on  the  soil  of  America,  the  tyranny  it  fled  from 
the  Old  World  to  avoid.  It  burned  the  witches, 
persecuted  the  Baptists,  and  persistently  opposed 
the  ingress  of  Methodism  into  New  England. 
Episcopalianism  hardly  knew  how  to  exist  except 
in  alliance  with  the  State  and  as  a  part  of  the 
Church  of  England.  During  the  war  it  became 
badly  demoralized,  and  at  its  close  it  found  itself 
in  a  very  awkward  position.  It  was  utterly  in- 
competent to  be  the  conservator  of  the  moral  and 
religious  interests  of  the  new  Nation. 

.  As  all  Churches  are  what  they  grow  to  be, 
their  character  and  structure  once  fixed  are  not 
easily  modified.  The  Colonial  Churches  had  ex- 
isted for  centuries  in  other  lands,  under  conditions 
widely  different  from  those  America  presented, 
and  as  a  consequence  they  were  not  adapted,  ex- 
cept to  a  limited  extent,  to  meet  its  religious 
demands. 

As  we  have  seen,  at  the  close  of  the  War  of 
the  Revolution  the  Congregational  Church  was 
socially  and  politically  in  a  commanding  position ; 

and   had    nothing   been    lacking,   it   might   have 


CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.  105 

taken  the  lead  in  caring  for  the  religious  welfare 
of  the  Nation.  But  the  reasons  are  apparent  why 
it  was  not  competent  to  the  task: 

1.  The  most  aggravated  form  of  Calvinism  was 
the  accepted  doctrine  of  the  Church.     This  was 
as  old,  stale  wine.     It  belonged  to  an   age   that 
was  fast  passing  away.     A  brighter  era  of  intelli- 
gence was   dawning  upon   the  world ;   and  in  the 
new  light  that  was  breaking,  this  old  dogma  could 
not    be    made    acceptable    to    the    people.     This 
Church  was  patriotic   and  highly  respectable;  it 
was  favored  with  a  learned  ministry;  many  of  the 
leading  men  of  the  Nation  were  communicants  at 
its  altars;  but  the  time  had  come  when  no  human 
power  could  induce  the  people  to  treat  with  decent 
respect  the  horrible  decrees  of  Calvinism. 

2.  This  Church  was  destitute  of  the  evangel- 
izing power  which  goes  out  into  the  highways  and 
the  byways  of  life,  moves  on  swift  wing  along  the 
borders  of  civilization,  and  brings  wild  men,  out- 
casts, and  villains  into  the  kingdom  of  God.     Re- 
vivals of  religion  were  not  looked  for  nor  desired 
but  by  a  few  of  its  preachers  or  members.     Only 
a  small  number  of  either  the  clergy  or  laity  pre- 
tended to  know   anything  of  evangelizing  work. 
As  the  elect  were  by  some   means  to  receive  the 
"effectual  call,"  and  were   sure   of  salvation;  and 
as  there  was  no  chance  whatever  for  the  "repro- 
bates,"  "inasmuch    as   Christ  died   for  the  elect 
only," — what  was  the  use,  many  asked,  of  making 
a   fuss   about  religion,    any  more  than  about  the 


106  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

weather  or  the  flow  of  the  tides?  So  fixed  and 
satisfied  were  the  Congregational  Churches  in  this 
state  of  torpor  that  when  the  Methodist  ministers 
first  visited  New  England,  and  thousands  were 
converted  before  their  eyes  under  the  preaching 
of  these  men,  they  were  willing  to  accept  the 
converts  as  genuine  Christians  and  receive  them 
into  their  Churches ;  but  the  agents  of  their  con- 
version were  denounced  as  "wolves  in  sheeps' 
clothing,"  and  no  pains  were  spared  to  expel  the 
invaders  from  their  territory. 

3.  Its  ideal  of  the  Churchly  life  was  the  well- 
furnished    village   congregation,   supplied    with   a 
duly  installed  pastor,  and  supported  by  taxation. 
It  was  English  village  life  over  again,  when  Puri- 
tanism  happened  to  be   in   the  ascendant.      But 
such   an  evangel  was  not  enough  for   the   New 
World.     An  empire  was  about  to  spread  its  wings 
toward  the  setting  sun,  and  some  agency,  like  the 
Angel  of  the  Apocalypse,  was  needed  to  fly  through 
the  midst  of  the  heavens  having  the  everlasting 
gospel   to  preach   to  the   millions   of  people  who 
were  swiftly  coming.    The  Congregational  Church 
of  that  day  was  not  winged  for  such  a  flight. 

4.  This  Church  did  not,  except  to  a  limited 
extent,   possess   an   aggressive  spirit.     It  had  in- 
creased its  membership  but  little  except  by  births, 
emigration,     and    colonization.      Its     laity    were 
strangers  to  revival  work.     It  was  at  best  like  an 
old  ocean  vessel,  at  anchor  in  a  safe  harbor,  with 
sails  furled,  and  fit  only  for  coasting  service  on  a 


CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.  107 

calm  sea;  whereas  the  wants  of  the  Nation  called 
for  a  vast  fleet  of  ^fe-boats,  fit  for  all  waters, 
manned  by  a  crew  that  could  dare  the  devil  in  its 
Master's  name,  who  were  blithe  and  happy  in  any 
gale,  who  welcomed  any  billows  which  could  carry 
them  where  there  were  men  overboard,  and  whose 
supreme  delight  was  to  "rescue  the  perishing." 

5.  The  unsavory  fact  that  it  had,  in  many  in- 
stances, collected  tithes  of  the  poor  by  legal  pro- 
cesses, and  that  it  had  persecuted  for  conscience' 
sake,  still  clung  to  its  skirts.  The  Presbyterian 
Church  was  strong  in  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey, 
and  New  York.  The  central  position  it  thus  held 
was  favorable  to  an  aggressive  movement.  On 
doctrinal  ground  it  would  have  had  the  formal 
acquiescence,  if  not  the  support,  of  the  New  Eng- 
land States.  We  have  awarded  to  this  people 
great  credit  for  the  wise  and  brave  part  they  took 
in  the  legislation  and  War  of  the  Revolution,  and 
this  prestige  might  have  been  of  great  value  had 
not  other  qualities  been  wanting.  Though  the 
war  had  burned  its  churches,  closed  its  schools, 
slain  many  of  its  members,  and  scattered  its  forces, 
yet  enough  were  left,  if  qualified  for  the  work,  to 
have  taken  the  Nation.  This  Church  brought  to 
this  country  Scotch  and  Irish  models  of  ecclesias- 
ticism,  and  these  did  not  fit  the  demands  of  the 
young  Republic.  It  knew  how  to  march  only  by 
Synods,  Presbyteries,  and  settled  pastorates,  and 
the  movements  of  such  bodies  were  too  slow  for 
the  rising  Empire  of  the  West. 


108          OUR  CO UNTR Y  AND  ME THODISM. ' 

The  Episcopalians,  as  we  have  seen,  were  em- 
barrassed in  consequence  of  their  close  connection 
with  England ;  and  then  they  were  wofully  lack- 
ing in  bold,  aggressive,  evangelizing  power.  The 
Romanists  had  really  made  the  papacy  an  idol, 
and  they  took  no  interest  in  the  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity except  as  it  tended  to  strengthen  that  es- 
tablishment. The  idea  of  going  out  into  the  high- 
ways and  byways,  and  preaching  repentance  and 
faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  for  the  remission  of  sins, 
was  and  is  yet  foreign  to  all  the  thoughts  and 
methods  of  the  hierarchy.  But  this  was  exactly 
the  kind  of  work  the  Republic  needed  to  have  done, 
and,  fortunately  for  the  country,  it  was  the  only 
work  the  Methodists  had  either  heart  or  time  to 
do.  Hence,  though  in  1768  there  were  known 
to  be  but  eight  Methodists  in  America,  they  had, 
in  testing  their  strength  and  the  temper  of  the 
weapons  of  their  warfare,  greatly  increased  in 
numbers  and  power,  and  were  in  splendid  posi- 
tion at  the  close  of  the  war  to  make  primitive 
Christianity  as  they  preached  it  the  religious  life 
of  the  Republic. 

In  1800  no  one  man  in  America  knew  the  Na- 
tion and  all  its  people  as  well  as  Bishop  Asbury. 
With  a  knowledge  of  men  rarely  equaled,  he  had 
traversed  the  whole  country,  much  of  it  repeat- 
edly, from  Maine  to  Florida.  He  had  scaled  the 
mountains  and  plunged  into  the  immense  valleys 
of  the  West.  He  knew  personally  every  preacher 
in  the  connection,  and  hundreds  of  the  local  preach- 


CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR. .  109 

ers,  exporters,  and  principal  laymen;  and  in  all 
parts  of  the  land  he  came  in  contact  with  judges, 
statesmen,  and  the  leading  minds  of  the  Nation ; 
and  this  tremendous  force  which  he  had  gathered 
around  him  was  all  concentrated  upon  the  work 
of  beseeching  individual  men  to  become  recon- 
ciled to  God.  He  never  lost  sight  of  the  fact  that 
the  gospel  can  only  reach  its  highest  earthly 
height  in  the  conversion  of  a  soul,  and  he 
never  lived  to  see  the  time  when  his  chief  busi- 
ness was  not  to  answer  the  question  of  the  pen- 
itent sinner,  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  He 
had  no  associations  with  the  past,  nor  did  he  stand 
in  any  relation  to  the  affairs  of  the  present  which 
could  in  the  least  embarrass  him  or  divert  his 
mind  from  his  work — his  one  work — the  salvation 
of  his  fellow-men. 

He  preached  at  the  Conference  sessions  as  if 
he  were  in  the  midst  of  a  gracious  revival  and 
the  conversion  of  souls  were  the  business  of  the 
meeting.  His  sermons  were  so  simple,  so  rational, 
and  withal  so  grand,  that  their  very  momentum 
gave  his  doctrine  all  the  defense  it  needed.  As 
this  illustrious  example  was  followed  by  the  whole 
ministry,  itinerant  and  local,  the  laity  being  in 
the  fullest  and  most  prayerful  sympathy  with 
them,  it  was  one  of  the  most  natural  things  in  the 
world  that  immense  revivals  should  follow  their 
labors.  As  "new  wine  in  a  new  bottle,"  every 
part  of  the  new  Nation  felt  the  power  of  the  pres- 
ence of  Methodism.  The  preachers  waited  for 


1 1 o          OUR  CO UNTR  Y  AND  METHODISM. 

neither  call  nor  salary,  but  went  wherever  human 
beings  could  be  found. 

A  tendency  to  push  on  to  the  West  was  as 
prevalent  among  the  preachers  as  the  people. 
The  following  incident,  found  in  various  histories 
of  pioneer  Methodism,  will  illustrate  this  fact: 
Richmond  Nolley,  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and 
a  noted  evangelist,  after  camping  in  the  woods 
among  wild  beasts  eleven  nights  in  succession, 
while  exploring  his  new  circuit,  at  last  struck  the 
Tombigbee  River;  and,  noticing  a  fresh  wagon- 
track,  was  inspired  with  the  hope  that  he  soon 
might  find  a  soul  saved  or  that  needed  salvation. 
Daniel  Boone,  with  a  gigantic  elk  or  bear  in  sight, 
would  not  have  been  more  delighted.  He  soon 
came  upon  an  emigrant  family,  which  had  just 
selected  the  spot  where  they  were  to  make  their 
future  home.  The  man  was  feeding  his  horses 
and  his  wife  arranging  the  supper.  As  Nolley 
rode  up,  the  astonished  emigrant  exclaimed: 

"What!  are  you  here?" 

"I  am  here,  sir;  but  I  have  not  the  happiness 
of  your  acquaintance,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  Where, 
sir,  have  you  known  me?" 

"I  have  never  seen  you  before,  but  I  know 
that  you  are  a  Methodist  preacher,  and  I  am 
amazed  that  you  have  found  me  so  soon.  It  is 
only  two  years  ago  that  I  left  Virginia  and  settled 
in  Georgia  to  get  away  from  Methodist  preachers ; 
but  you  hunted  me  out,  and  in  Georgia  got  my 
wife  and  daughter  into  your  Church.  Then  I  left 


CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.  1 1 1 

Georgia  for  this  place,  sure  that  I  would  be  rid  of 
you  forever;  but  here  you  are  before  I  have  had 
one  night's  peace." 

"My  friend,"  said  Nolley,  "go  where  you 
may — earth,  heaven,  and  perhaps  hell — you  will 
find  Methodist  preachers,  and  you  had  better  be 
at  peace  with  them." 

After  1784,  Wesley  sent  no  more  missionaries 
to  this  country;  nor,  except  in  the  way  of  advice 
and  admonition,  did  he  make  any  attempt  to  mold 
or  direct  the  Methodism  of  this  Republic.  In  this 
matter,  as  in  almost  everything  else,  he  acted  with 
consummate  wisdom.  It  was  of  the  first  impor- 
tance that  the  Church  should  have  a  free  and 
spontaneous  development  in  the  New  World.  Had 
Charles  Wesley  been  at  the  helm,  he  would  have 
fashioned  the  new  Church  as  far  as  possible  after 
the  Anglican  Establishment,  and  thus  marred  if 
not  spoiled  it.  It  was  well  that  American  Meth- 
odism was  left  at  the  earliest  moment  in  the 
hands  of  Americans. 

Considering  the  vast  extent  of-  the  country,  the 
rapidity  with  which  the  star  of  empire  moved  west- 
ward, is  it  not  a  little  marvelous  that  laborers 
were  never  wanting  for  the  extended  white  har- 
vest-fields ?  Not  a  school  of  any  kind  was  under 
the  control  of  the  Church.  For  preachers  Asbury 
looked  to  God  through  revivals ;  and  always  bright, 
brave  men,  called  to  the  work,  were  at  his  com- 
mand. Often  in  less  than  a  year  after  their  con- 
version, men  were  placed  on  extensive  fields  of 


112  OUR  CO  UNTR  Y  AND  ME  T HOD  ISM. 

labor.  .  They  "became  mighty  in  the  Scriptures 
and  in  the  hymn-book.  They  knew  men,  and 
were  masters  of  the  great  central  truths  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  key-note  of  their  preaching — the 
salvation  of  the  soul — had  become  the  key-note  of 
their  own  destiny  for  time  and  for  eternity.  Their 
sermons  embodied  not  only  their  thought,  but  the 
lives  they  lived ;  hence  their  preaching  was  in 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power.  And 
then  there  were  giants  in  those  days.  Brave  and 
mighty  men  were  on  horseback,  ready  for  what- 
ever, in  the  providence  of  God,  they  might  be 
called  to  meet.  Arrayed  against  them  was  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil;  but  woe  to  the 
skeptic,  the  Calvinist,  or  the  sprig  of  the  law  who 
fell  into  their  hands,  especially  the  hands  of  Jesse 
Lee. 

Born  in  Virginia  1758,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five  he  entered  the  Methodist  ministry.  In  every 
way  he  was  a  magnificent  man.  Weighing  nearly 
three  hundred  pounds,  he  always  had  at  command 
two  horses ;  and  he  was  as  capacious  in  mind  and 
heart  as  body.  His  warm  Southern  blood,  frank- 
ness, fearless  energy,  and  entire  devotion  to  the 
work  of  his  ministry  made  him  a  marked  charac- 
ter in  those  days.  He  was  as  much  at  home  on 
Boston  Common,  while  Harvard  professors  were 
listening  to  his  prayer  and  song  and  sermon,  as 
on  the  floor  of  his  Conference.  While  on  a  tour 
through  the  South  with  Bishop  Asbury,  in  1784, 
he  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  gentleman  from 


CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.  113 

Massachusetts,  and  the  description  this  live 
Yankee  gave  of  the  customs,  manners,  Churches, 
and  theology  of  New  England  touched  the  heart 
of  the  ardent  Virginian,  and  it  seemed  to  him 
that  he  had  received  a  special  call  to  visit  that 
country. 

His  ambition  to  try  the  edge  of  the  gospel  on 
that  cold,  formal,  scholastic  people  was  in  1789, 
after  much  consultation  and  prayer  with  Bishop 
Asbury,  fully  gratified.  His  faith  in  the  power  of 
the  gospel  to  convict  men  of  sin,  and  save  them 
through  Christ,  was  equaled  only  by  his  original- 
ity and  shrewdness  in  presenting  the  truth.  Lee 
was  an  interesting  man  even  to  look  at,  and  when 
his  sweet  and  heavy  baritone  voice  bore  off  a 
Methodist  hymn  on  its  pure,  clear,  and  elevating 
strains,  the  people  listened,  their  hearts  grew  ten- 
der, and  they  would  weep.  In  Boston  it  was 
thought  the  charm  of  his  preaching  had  never 
been  surpassed,  unless  by  Whitefield.  In  wit,  Lee 
was  an  Irishman  of  the  most  approved  type.  Dan- 
iels reports  the  following: 

"He  applied  to  a  minister  for  permission  to 
preach  in  his  church,  and  the  pastor,  anxious  to 
know  whether  he  was  a  learned  man  before  ad- 
mitting him  to  his  pulpit,  addressed  him  a  ques- 
tion in  Latin.  This  was  quite  beyond  Lee's  lit- 
erary latitude;  but  while  on  his  North  Carolina 
Circuit  he  had  picked  up  a  little  of  the  speech  of 
the  Dutch  mountaineers,  in  which  language  he 
gravely  replied  to  the  question.  This  pastor  was 


114          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

surprised,  but  not  satisfied.  Accordingly  he  re- 
peated the  question,  this  time  in  Greek.  Lee  re- 
sponded with  some  more  Dutch,  which  language, 
being  unknown  to  the  pastor,  he  imagined  it 
might  be  Hebrew,  of  which  he  was  himself  igno- 
rant, and,  on  the  presumption  that  Lee  was  the 
better  scholar  of  the  two,  he  granted  him  the  use 
of  his  pulpit." 

The  following  statement,  made  by  Dr.  Dan- 
iels in  his  "History  of  Methodism,"  fairly  rep- 
resents the  reception  New  England  gave  to 
Methodism: 

"  On  the  first  round  of  his  Connecticut  Circuit, 
Lee  was  frequently  treated  with  rudeness,  some- 
times approaching  violence.  The  majority  of  the 
ministers  warned  the  people  against  him  as  a  pes- 
tilent heretic,  whom  it  was  the  duty  of  all  good 
Christians  to  thrust  out  of  their  neighborhood 
as  soon  as  possible,  alleging  that  he  came  to 
break  up  the  Congregational  Churches  and  drive 
away  their  ministers.  When  in  Fairfield  it  be- 
came known  that  there  were  three  women  who 
intended  to  join  his  society,  there  was  great  ex- 
citement and  alarm,  and  a  convention,  comprising 
forty-five  ministers  and  ninety  deacons,  was  held 
with  a  view  of  forming  a  compact  combination 
against  the  intruders." 

After  organizing  circuits  in  Connecticut,  and 
manning  them  with  able  preachers  from  Balti- 
more, Lee  pushed  on  into  Massachusetts.  Here 
he  encountered  difficulties  which  would  have  ap- 


CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.  115 

palled  any  man  who  did  not  feel  the  force  of  the 
words,  "Lo,  I  am  with  you."  But  the  truth  pre- 
vailed, souls  were  saved,  circuits  organized;  and 
then,  as  soon  as  he  could  supply  them  with 
preachers,  he  pushed  on  up  into  the  wilds  of 
Maine.  He  preached  at  York,  Wells,  Portland, 
New  Castle,  Waldoborough,  and  Thomaston.  West 
of  the  Kennebec  River  he  organized  the  Redfield 
Circuit.  The  prosperity  of  the  work  in  this  re- 
gion was  such  that  a  Conference  was  convened 
here  in  1798.  Passing  up  the  Penobscot  River, 
the  indefatigable  pioneer  made  his  way  to  the 
northeast,  fording  rivers  and  penetrating  forests 
till  he  reached  the  city  of  St.  Johns,  in  New 
Brunswick.  These  are  bare  specimens  of  the 
labors  he  performed  in  New  England,  and  such 
was  their  success  that  in  1800  he  was  able  to 
leave  the  country  in  the  hands  of  able  preachers, 
mostly  raised  up  on  the  soil. 

Among  these  were  Timothy  Merritt,  George 
Pickering,  Shadrach  Bostwick,  Michael  Coate, 
Peter  Jayne,  Wm.  Thatcher,  Lorenzo  Dow,  Enoch 
Mudge,  Jesse  Stoneman,  Joshua  Taylor,  Robert 
Yallely,  Roger  Searle,  Aaron  Humphrey,  Epa- 
phras  Kibby,  Asa  Heath  ;  and  these  were  but  the 
first-fruits  of  the  great  harvest  which  followed. 
In  no  part  of  the  country  did  Methodism  take 
root  more  quickly  and  grow  more  rankly  than  in 
the  territory  of  Maine.  Some  of  the  great  names 
of  Methodism  come  from  the  far  Northeast;  such 
as  Wilbur  Fisk,  Elijah  Hedding,  Joshua  Soule, 


1 1 6         OUR  CO UNTR  Y  AND  ME THODISM, 

Osmon  C.  Baker,  and  a  large  company,  iu  ability 
but  little  their  inferior. 

Lee  retired  from  New  England  ostensibly  to 
accompany  Bishop  Asbury,  because  of  his  feeble 
health,  as  an  assistant  in  his  tour  through  the 
South;  but  Providence  may  have  had  a  hand  in 
this  matter.  Preachers,  in  number  and  ability 
sufficient  to  care  for  the  work,  had  been  raised 
up,  and  it  was  wise  and  proper  to  leave  it  in 
their  hands.  Christianity  is  never  a  success  un- 
less sustained  and  propagated  by  the  people 
whom  it  is  intended  to  bless.  Religion  can  no 
more  be  forced  upon  a  nation  than  an  individual. 
Still,  for  all  time,  Jesse  Lee  will  hold  his  place  in 
history  as  one  of  the  greatest  heroes  that  ever 
trod  the  soil  of  New  England.  At  the  Confer- 
ence of  1800  he  failed  in  but  one  vote  of  being 
elected  bishop,  and  had  that  one  little  scrap  of 
paper  been  cast  with  his  name  on  it,  he  would 
have  taken  his  place  by  the  side  of  Asbury  as  one 
of  the  greatest  of  American  bishops ;  and  yet  the 
position  would  have  added  little  or  nothing  to 
his  just  fame.  Whatcoat,  the  successful  candi- 
date, though  a  tried,  true,  and  excellent  man  and 
a  good  bishop,  was  a  pigmy  by  the  side  of  Lee. 
Lee's  perennial  wit  was  the  cause  of  his  defeat. 

In  1785,  Freeborn  Garrettson  carried  Method- 
ism into  the  northeastern  provinces  of  British 
America,  and  in  1790  Wm.  Losee  kindled  the 
sacred  fire  in  Upper  Canada.  The  part  Lee  acted 
in  New  England  was,  at  the  same  time,  performed 


CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR.  117 

in  New  York  under  the  labors  of  Garrettson, 
and  in  the  South  under  O'Kelley,  Williams,  and 
others.  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury  spent  much  of 
their  time  in  the  South,  wrestling  as  emancipa- 
tionists with  the  problem  of  slavery,  and  sending 
pioneers  into  the  great  Southwest.  In  1799, 
Tobias  Spicer  was  sent  to  Natchez,  Mississippi, 
to  establish  an  outpost  there.  The  people  were 
wicked  beyond  description;  but  Spicer,  through 
God,  took  and  held  the  ground.  In  1808  six 
preachers  came  up  from  that  region  to  Confer- 
ence, and  reported  a  membership  of  415.  Lo- 
renzo Dow  appeared  in  Alabama  in  1803,  and 
again  in  1804.  In  1805,  Elisha  W.  Bowman  was 
sent  by  Bishop  Asbury  to  Louisiana,  and  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  abandoned  wickedness  of  the 
Catholic,  French,  and  Spanish  population,  he  suc- 
cessfully founded  a  Church.  In  1807  the  cele- 
brated Jacob  Young — one  of  the  many  great  men 
of  the  times — as  presiding  elder,  took  charge  of 
all  the  Louisiana  region. 

But  we  shall  see  Methodism  reaching  its  high- 
tide  mark  in  moral  grandeur  only  as  we  pass  the 
mountains  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  and 
sweep  down  into  the  valleys  below.  The  work  is 
organized  as  the  Western  District  in  1788,  with 
five  circuits — nine  preachers — Valentine  Cook, 
presiding  elder.  In  1785,  Richard  Swift  and 
Michael  Gilbert  crossed  the  Alleghanies,  and  en- 
tered the  Holston  country.  Haw  and  Ogden  en- 
tered Kentucky  in  1786.  Francis  Poythress,  one 


1 1 8  OUR  CO UNTR  Y  AND  ME THODISM. 

of  the  great  men  of  his  times,  took  charge  of  the 
first  Kentucky  District.  In  1792  three  districts 
were  reported,  comprising  Western  Virginia,  West- 
ern Pennsylvania,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee. 
The  heroes  of  the  great  fight  that  was  then  going 
on  for  the  empire  of  righteousness  were  Cook, 
Poythress,  Cooper,  Haw,  Breeze,  Ogden,  McCor- 
mick,  Boehm,  Hitt,  Kobler,  McHenry,  Burke, 
Willis,  Wilson,  Lee,  Phoebus,  Axley,  Cartwright, 
Finley,  and  a  host  of  others  of  the  same  stamp,  if 
not  of  equal  ability.  Wherever  these  men  went 
the  gospel  was  preached  with  marvelous  power, 
attended  by  many  conversions.  Between  1800 
and  1803,  the  Church  had  increased  from  64,890 
to  104,070.  Twenty-seven  years  later,  1830,  the 
Presbyterian  Church  had  increased,  largely  by 
emigration,  from  40,000  to  173,229 — fourfold; 
the  Congregationalists  from  75,000  to  140,000,  not 
quite  twofold;  and  the  Methodist  from  64,000  to 
476,153,  more  than  seven-fold;  the  Baptists  from 
100,000  to  313,138,  more  than  threefold.  Do  not 
these  facts  signify  that  Methodism  is  to  this 
country  as  the  "new  wine  to  the  new  bottle?" 


E  depths  of  Divine  grace  are  clearly  seen  in  allowing 
those  mighty  men  [Methodists]  to  become  what  they 
have  become  in  England  and  elsewhere — a  great  stimulant 
force  in  Christendom.  What  denomination  can  show  greater 
exploits,  more  versatile  service,  and  larger  conquests?" 

— ADAMS. 

"Methodism  has  had  a  grand  mission  to  fulfill  in  modern 
Christendom — a  mission  of  mediation  between  the  sects  on 
the  one  hand,  and  between  an  exclusive  Church  and  a  neg- 
lected world  on  the  other;  and  there  is  a  moral  majesty  in 
the  firm  and  sure  tread  with  which  it  has  marched  to  the  ac- 
complishment of  its  work."  — CHRISTIAN  EXAMINER. 
1 20 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  MISSION  OF  METHODISM  INTRUSTED  TO 
MIGHTY  MEN. 

\  /TETHODISM  attracted  the  attention  of  states- 
^-*-  men  even  amidst  the  throes  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War.  This  grew  out  of  the  fact  that, 
though  small  in  numbers,  it  was  the  boldest,  the 
most  active  and  aggressive  religious  body  in  the 
country.  But  most  observers  regarded  it  as  a 
nine  days'  wonder — a  mere  spasm  of  humanity — 
which  would  soon  pass  away.  The  case  assumed 
a  more  serious  aspect  when  the  Church  was  for- 
mally organized,  in  1784,  with  an  episcopal  head, 
and  Jesse  Lee  entered  New  England  to  take  it 
for  God  and  Methodism.  His  journey  through 
Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  and  Maine  into  New 
Brunswick,  leaving  revivals  and  organized  soci- 
eties behind  him,  was  the  march  of  a  conqueror. 
Still,  the  historian  of  the  period  gave  it  as  the 
opinion  of  thinking  men  that  the  prevailing  relig- 
ion of  the  land  would  be  Congregationalism,  and 
barely  alluded  to  the  Methodists  as  a  small  and 
evanescent  body.  The  staying  qualities  of  Meth- 
odism, having  now  been  tested  by  the  experience 
of  more  than  one  hundred  years,  may  be  consid- 
ered a  proper  subject  for  investigation. 

It  was  a  matter  of  much  importance  for  revi- 


122  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

vals  to  break  out  in  favored  localities  under  the 
labors  of  such  men  as  Asbury,  Coke,  Garrettson, 
Hartley,  Abbott,  and  Lee ;  but  what  the  Nation 
needed  were  squadrons  of  such  men  scattered  ev- 
erywhere, and  these  it  must  have,  or  suffer  from 
its  abounding  infidelity  and  flagrant  crimes. 
There  must  be  agents  in  the  field  by  whom  a 
spiritual  Christianity  will  be  made  to  permeate 
all  ranks  of  society  as  a  divine  leavening  power, 
and  as  the  empire  marched  westward  with  rapid 
strides,  where  the  center  of  its  population  and 
power  are  yet  to  be,  who  will  move  up  and  down 
along  the  ever-advancing  border  as  the  guides  and 
guards  of  the  daring  pioneers.  Has  Methodism 
or  has  some  other  evangel  furnished  the  men  who 
have  accomplished  this  mission? 

The  building  of  the  American  Republic  de- 
manded men  of  the  first  ability  and  of  the  most 
consummate  moral  courage.  In  civil  life  states- 
men of  this  character  were  not  wanting.  The 
agents,  ambassadors,  and  State  papers  sent  to 
England  and  France  by  the  Colonial  Assembly, 
commanded  the  highest  respect  of  the  sages  and 
rulers  of  those  countries.  Along  the  front  line, 
in  its  march  to  greatness,  the  Nation  had  no  use 
for  pigmies,  or  even  ordinary  men,  as  legislators. 
In  this  particular  Methodism  was  favored  not  less 
than  the  Colonies  and  the  new-born  Republic. 
In  their  respective  spheres  Asbury  and  Washing- 
ton were  born  commanders  of  men,  and  the  bishop 
was  as  well-born  as  the  general. 


MIGHTY  MEN.  123 

Farragut  was  not  more  at  home  on  the  deck 
of  the  Wabash,  among  the  sailors,  than  were  Lee, 
and  Abbott,  and  Hartley,  and  Williams  as  Meth- 
odist preachers  on  a  stump  or  a  dry-goods  box, 
presenting  Christ  to  the  massed  and  weeping 
thousands  who  came  to  hear  them.  In  the  con- 
sciousness of  their  strength,  natural  and  gracious, 
they  felt  that  in  their  sphere  they  were  kings  and 
conquerors.  Because  especially  needed,  master 
minds  were  raised  up  on  the  soil  of  New  England, 
to  give  Methodism  as  a  perpetual  blessing  to  the 
land  of  the  Puritans.  A  senate  made  up  of  such 
men  as  Enoch  Mudge,  Timothy  Merritt,  George 
Pickering,  Wm.  Losee,  John  Brodhead,  Joshua 
Taylor,  Shadrach  Bostwick,  Epaphras  Kibby,  David 
Webb,  and  Asa  Heath  would  have  commanded 
the  respect  of  any  nation  under  heaven.  But  its 
greatest  men  were  yet  to  appear,  in  the  persons 
of  Joshua  Soule,  Elijah  Hedding,  Osmon  C.  Baker, 
all  bishops,  and  Wilbur  Fisk,  who,  for  more  im- 
portant work,  declined  episcopal  honor. 

These  master  minds  were  conscious  that  they 
had  in  hand  a  work  which  taxed  to  the  utmost 
and  transcended  all  human  ability.  The  old  Paul- 
ine .gospel  they  preached — a  full  and  free  salva- 
tion for  all  men — was  to  the  Calvinistically-bred 
people  as  a  new  revelation  from  heaven.  Con- 
scious that  they  possessed  the  truth,  they  felt  the 
responsibility  of  being  its  sole  possessors — they 
must  give  it  to  the  world.  Hence  their  strength, 
their  cheerful  willingness  to  suffer  and  toil,  to 


124  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

endanger  life  and  limb,  to  hail  reproach  and 
shame,  and  find  full  compensation  in  the  Divine 
approval  and  the  success  of  the  cause.  The 
work  of  such  men  remains  after  they  are  dead 
and  gone.  The  agency  of  great  men  in  laying 
the  foundation  of  the  Church  we  regard  as  one  of 
the  most  conspicuous  and  promising  aspects  of 
Methodism.  Its  champions  were  men  of  brain 
and  brawn  as  well  as  piety.  The  gifts  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  were  conferred  where  there  was  a  ca- 
pacity to  receive  and  use  them. 

Abel  Stevens,  the  brilliant  historian  of  Meth- 
odism, gives  the  following  as  a  picture  of  the 
treatment  New  England  gave  to  Methodist 
preachers : 

"Kibby  was  threatened  with  violence  at  Mar- 
blehead,  and  advised  to  leave  the  town.  The 
Methodists  of  those  days  were,  in  many  places, 
persecuted  even  unto  fines,  the  seizure  of  their 
goods,  and  sometimes  imprisonment  by  the  dom- 
inant Church.  They  were  denounced  from  the 
pulpits,  maltreated  in  the  courts,  interrupted  in 
the  course  of  their  sermons  with  charges  of  her- 
esy, and  assailed  in  the  streets  by  the  rabble. 
Washburn  was  hooted  through  the  villages,  Hed- 
ding  cursed  with  outcries  in  the  highway ;  Dow's 
nose  was  publicly  wrung;  Sabin  was  knocked 
down  and  struck  on  the  head,  to  the  peril  of  his 
life,  with  the  butt  of  a  gun;  Wood  was  horse- 
whipped ;  Christie  summoned  out  of  bed  to  an- 
swer a  charge  of  violating  the  laws  by  marrying 


MIGHTY  MEN.  125 

a  couple  of  his  people;  Willard  wounded  in  the 
eye  by  a  blow,  the  effect  of  which  was  seen 
through  his  life ;  Mudge  denied  the  rights  of  a 
clergyman,  and  arraigned  before  the  magistrate 
for  assuming  them;  Kibby  stoned  while  preach- 
ing; and  Taylor  drummed  out  of  town." 

But  none  of  these  things  moved  either  the 
Methodist  ministry  or  the  Churches  they  had  es- 
tablished. There  was  within  them  a  written  and 
a  deeply-felt  commission,  having  on  it  the  seal  of 
the  Master;  also  the  words,  "Lo,  I  am  with  you." 
This,  together  with  their  yearning  for  the  salva- 
tion of  souls,  was  their  inspiration,  comfort,  and 
strength. 

The  course  pursued  by  the  dominant  Church 
clearly  demonstrated  that  it  was  old,  moss-covered, 
and  belonged  to  an  age  that  had  passed  away.  It 
was  far  back  behind  the  times.  It  had  failed  to 
grasp  the  spirit  of  the  young  Republic,  and  hence 
was  utterly  disqualified  to  go  before  it  as  its  pillar 
of  religious  light.  It  might  have  found  in  Meth- 
odism the  blessing  it  most  needed,  and  been  saved 
from  the  deeper  formalism  of  Unitarianism  that 
came  upon  it.  Though  the  Congregationalists, 
Baptists,  and  Free-will  Baptists  were  strong  in 
that  territory,  the  Methodists  stand  in  numbers 
to-day  next  to  the  head  of  the  column.  It  reports 
an  active  ministry  of  650,  and  a  membership  of 
144,748.  Its  churches,  colleges,  universities,  sem- 
inaries, and  press  are  adequate  to  its  wants. 

Methodism  went  forth,  not  to  attack  or  tear 


126  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

dowr  other  Churches,  but,  whenever  its  saluta- 
tions were  reciprocated,  to  hail  them  as  fellow- 
workers  in  a  common  cause.  As  often  as  they 
were  permitted  to  do  so,  they  carried  its  quick- 
ening power  into  their  pulpits  and  congregations. 
Their  prayers  and  blessings  followed  thousands  of 
their  converts  whenever  they  chose  to  find  a  re- 
ligious home  in  other  denominations.  Along  the 
western  border  they  met  with  but  little  opposition, 
except  that  which  legitimately  came  from  the  evil 
one;  but  it  was  not  so  in  the  older  Colonies. 
From  Maine  to  Georgia  they  were  regarded  as 
intruders,  who  must  be  silenced  by  argument  or 
expelled  by  force.  It  is  quite  likely  that  this  op- 
position developed  in  the  early  preachers,  a  hard- 
iness and  a  courage  which  would  not  otherwise 
have  appeared,  and  was  a  real  benefit  to  them. 
Methodism  was  denounced  from  many  a  pulpit 
and  platform  as  popery,  Arianism,  infidelity,  and 
heresy;  and  "wolves  in  sheep's  clothing"  was  the 
designation  the  preachers  of  those  early  times 
often  received.  But  the  only  practical  tendency 
of  these  contrary  winds  was  to  bring  into  action 
the  more  fully  their  powers  as  consecrated  men. 

The  camp-fires  of  Methodism  were  kindled 
simultaneously,  by  migration  and  the  border  itin- 
erants, in  Western  New  York,  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania, Western  Virginia,  and  Ohio.  At  first  the 
small  societies  were  far  apart.  Often  there  were 
neither  roads  nor  bridges  leading  from  one  to  an- 
other, the  country  was  infested  with  savage  In- 


MIGHTY  MEN.  127 

dians  and  wild  beasts ;  but,  nothing  daunted,  the 
brave  itinerant  appeared  among  the  people  at  least 
once  in  four  weeks,  with  his  soul  aglow  with  the 
blessings  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  'These  societies 
grew  with  the  growth  of  the  country.  They  were 
as  lights  in  dark  places,  and,  as  the  conservators 
of  its  intelligence  and  morals,  exerted  a  vast  in- 
fluence. 

The  West,  not  less  than  the  East  and  South, 
was  blessed  with  the  labors  of  really  great  men. 
Valentine  Cook  is  one  of  the  brilliant  and  pre- 
cious names  of  Methodism.  He  was  a  thoroughly 
consecrated  man — a  religious  battery,  which  set 
everything  in  motion  wherever  he  went.  His  el- 
oquence and  power  brought  all  classes  to  hear 
him,  and  his  example  made  every  man  on  his  vast 
district  a  hero. 

In  the  Redstone  country,  Scotch  Seceders  had, 
by  emigration,  organized  a  large  society.  The 
clergyman  of  this  denomination  had  never  seen 
Cook,  but  the  information  he  had  received  about 
him  greatly  disturbed  his  peace  of  mind.  Through 
unfriendly  channels,  he  had  thoroughly  informed 
himself,  as  he  thought,  in  regard  to  Wesley  and 
Methodism.  He  was  then  eager  to  meet  Cook  in 
public  debate,  vanquish  him  in  the  presence  of 
the  people,  and  forever  rid  the  country  of  his  pres- 
ence and  his  religion.  A  challenge  was  sent,  and 
accepted  by  Cook.  The  whole  country,  for  many 
miles  around,  came  together,  and  probably  nine- 
teen out  of  twenty  anticipated  the  pleasure  of  see- 


128          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  ME THODISM. 

ing  the  heresy  of  Methodism  swept  out  of  that 
section  of  the  country.  Robert  R.  Roberts,  after- 
wards bishop,  then  one  of  Cook's  preachers,  was 
present,  and  the  world  is  indebted  to  him  for  the 
account  we  have  of  the  great  debate.  1  quote 
from  Stevens: 

"On  the  appointed  morning  they  gathered  in 
hosts  around  a  lofty  pulpit,  which  had  been  erected 
in  the  midst  of  the  forest,  and  was  surrounded 
with  a  vast  number  of  seats  for  the  immense  con- 
course. These  arrangements  appeared  to  have 
been  exclusively  prepared  by  the  votaries  of  the 
old  Scotch  minister.  In  truth,  Roberts  saw  no  one 
who  was  at  all  inclined  to  favor  Cook  or  his 
cause.  Upon  the  whole,  it  was  perfectly  clear, 
from  all  that  he  could  see  and  hear,  that  a  great 
victory,  in  the  estimation  of  the  dominant  party, 
was  that  day  to  be  achieved  on  the  side  of  Cal- 
vinism. 

"It  was  at  last  announced  that  the  Methodist 
preacher  had  arrived.  Roberts  found  him  a  little 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  congregation,  quietly 
seated  on  the  trunk  of  a  fallen  tree.  His  pres- 
ence, however,  appeared  to  put  a  quietus,  for  the 
time  being,  on  the  rampant  spirit  of  the  opposi- 
tion, especially  as  their  champion  had  not  yet 
made  his  appearance.  At  length  the  aged  Scotch- 
man drove  up,  until  he  had  well-nigh  reached  the 
center  of  the  crowd.  He  was  a  well-set,  broad- 
shouldered,  venerable-looking  man  of  about  sixty. 
When  interrogated  by  one  of  his  friends  as  to  the 


MIGHTY  MEN.  129 

cause  of  his  delay,  he  promptly  replied,  with  a 
heavy  Scotch  brogue :  '  I  'in  here  in  ample  time  to 
gi'e  the  youngster  a  dose  from  which  he  will  not 
recover.' 

"  The  parties  had  never  seen  each  other  before, 
and,  of  course,  had  no  personal  acquaintance. 
When  introduced,  as  they  soon  were,  though  in  a 
very  awkward  manner,  Cook  was  treated  with 
marked  incivility.  With  an  air  of  authority,  the 
Scotchman  ascended  the  pulpit,  and,  without 
prayer  or  explanation,  commenced  a  furious  at- 
tack on  Wesley  and  Methodism  in  general.  He 
soon  became  greatly  excited,  raved,  stamped,  and 
literally  foamed  at  the  mouth.  By  the  time  he 
entered  on  the  support  of  Calvinism,  properly  so 
called,  his  voice  was  well-nigh  gone.  In  about 
two  hours  he  brought  his  remarks  to  a  close,  and 
sat  down  greatly  exhausted. 

"  Cook  then  rose  in  the  pulpit,  and,  after  a  fer- 
vent appeal  to  Almighty  God  for  wisdom  and  help 
to  defend  the  truth,  he  commenced  under  much 
embarrassment.  His  hand  trembled,  his  tongue 
faltered,  and  at  times  it  was  with  difficulty  he 
could  articulate  with  sufficient  clearness  to  be 
heard  on  the  outskirts  of  the  assembly.  He  first 
took  up  and  refuted  with  great  power  the  allega- 
tions that  had  been  made  against  Wesley  and 
Methodism.  By  this  time  his  embarrassment  had 
passed  off,  his  voice  became  clear  and  distinct, 
and,  withal,  there  was  a  strange  sweetness  in  his 
delivery  that  seemed  to  put  a  spell  on  the  whole 


1 30          OUR  CO UNTR Y  AND  ME THODISM, 

assembly.  He  then  entered  his  solemn  protest  to 
the  exceptional  features  of  the  Calvinistic  theol- 
ogy. He  opposed  to  the  opinions  of  reputedly 
great  men,  on  which  his  opponent  had  mainly  re- 
lied, the  plain  and  positive  teaching  of  Moses 
and  the  prophets,  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  and, 
in  conclusion,  presented  an  outline  of  the  scheme 
of  human  salvation  as  taught  by  Wesley  and  his  fol- 
lowers in  Europe  and  America — not  in  its  theory 
only,  but  in  its  experimental  and  practical  bearings. 
"At  an  early  period  in  his  discourse,  his  oppo- 
nent rose  to  his  feet,  and  exclaimed,  with  all  the 
voice  he  had  left:  'Wolf!  wolf!  Wolf  in  sheep's 
clothing!'  Cook,  had,  however,  become  so  per- 
fectly self-possessed,  and  so  entirely  absorbed  in 
his  subject,  that  this  rudeness  had  no  effect  upon 
him.  As  he  advanced  he  appeared  to  acquire  ad- 
ditional strength,  physical,  mental,  and  spiritual. 
The  fixed  attention  of  the  vast  audience  seemed 
to  inspire  him  with  new  powers  of  argument  and 
elocution.  His  voice,  usually  soft  and  soothing, 
rolled  out  in  thunder  tones  over  the  concourse, 
and  echoed  far  away  into  the  depths  of  the  forest, 
while  his  countenance  lighted  up,  kindled,  and 
glowed  as  if  he  were  newly  commissioned  from 
on  high  to  proclaim  the  salvation  of  God.  The 
Scotchman  could  endure  it  no  longer.  He  again 
sprang  to  his  feet,  and  shouted  at  the  top  of  his 
shattered  voice  :  'Follow  me!  follow  me!  and  leave 
the  babbler  to  himself!'  Only  two  or  three  obeyed 
him. 


MIGHTY  MEN.  131 

"  Cook  was  too  much  absorbed  to  pay  the  slight- 
est attention  to  the  ravings  or  flight  of  his  oppo- 
nent. He  pressed  directly  forward  "with  his  argu- 
ment, dealing  out  at  every  step  the  most  startling 
demonstrations  against  error  in  faith  and  practice. 
Long  before  the  mighty  effort  was  brought  to  a 
close,  the  whole  assembly  were  on  their  feet,  all 
eagerly  listening,  and  unconsciously  pressing  to- 
ward the  speaker.  Every  eye  was  fixed,  every 
ear  was  opened,  and  every  heart  was  tremblingly 
alive  to  the  importance  of  the  theme.  When  he 
took  his  seat,  all  faces  were  upturned,  and  for  the 
most  part  bathed  in  tears.  The  great  multitude 
stood  for  some  time  like  statues — no  one  appear- 
ing disposed  to  move,  utter  a  word,  or  leave  the 
place.  All  seemed  to  be  overwhelmed,  aston- 
ished, and  captivated.  At  last  the  spell-bound 
multitude  retired,  silent  as  a  funeral  proces- 
sion." 

Another  of  the  thousands  of  these  contests 
may  be  recorded:  A  multitude  within  the  bounds 
of  the  Erie  Conference  will  remember  Rev. 
Thomas  Graham;  but  as  he  was  from  1835  to 
1845,  he  is  known  only  to  a  few,  and  probably  to 
none  living  better  than  to  the  writer. 

In  those  days  public  sentiment  in  Portage 
County  had  become  badly  infected  with  infidelity, 
caused  by  a  low  and  vile  infidel  paper  which  for 
some  years  had  been  published  at  Ravenna,  the 
county-seat.  In  Mantua,  Freedom,  Shalersville, 
and  Charleston,  infidels,  as  a  class,  as  well  as  their 


132  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

doctrines,  received  broadside  after  broadside  from 
the  heavy  guns  of  Mr.  Graham,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence he  was  compelled  to  accept  a  challenge  to 
a  public  debate  from  a  Mr.  Veets,  of  Shalersville. 
Being  exceedingly  anxious  to  hear  all  that  could 
be  said  on  both  sides  of  the  questions  discussed, 
I  heard  the  debate  from  first  to  last.  The  first 
day  Mr.  Veets's  notes  and  written  speeches  held 
out  quite  well;  but  it  was  clearly  manifest  that 
Brother  Graham  felt  that  he  was  dealing  with  a 
conceited,  pig-headed  man,  whose  conceptions  of 
the  vast  field  occupied  by  Christianity  were  crude 
in  the  extreme,  and  he  was  handled  accordingly. 
In  the  morning  of  the  second  day  the  vaunting  in- 
fidel presented  to  his  large  audience  a  pitiable 
aspect.  Some  of  his  friends  had  abandoned  him, 
and  did  not  appear.  The  labor  of  the  forenoon 
was  the  struggle  of  desperation,  and  the  mercies 
of  Graham  were  like  the  ever-tightening  coils  of 
an  anaconda.  On  the  assembling  of  the  crowd 
in  the  afternoon,  the  president  of  the  meeting 
read  a  note  in  which  Mr.  Veets  announced  that, 
because  of  sickness,  he  would  not  be  able  to  be 
present.  All  felt  that  beyond  a  doubt  the  cham- 
pion of  infidelity  was  really  and  truly  "sick." 

,  But  the  people  did  not  disperse ;  it  was  known 
that  Graham  had  purposely  been  fighting  on  the 
skirmish  line,  and  was  then  fully  ready  for  close 
action.  Everybody  was  anxious  to  hear  him,  and 
in  two  hours  and  a  half  he  delivered  five  of  his 
prepared  half-hour  speeches.  His  notes  were 


MIGHTY  MEN.  133 

elaborate,  but  his  preparation  had  been  so  thor- 
ough and  complete  that  he  made  but  little  use  of 
them.  He  had  made  himself  a  master  of  the 
works  of  the  Watsons,  of  Alexander,  Simpson, 
Leslie,  and  Campbell,  on  the  one  side;  and  of 
Paine,  Volney,  Gibbon,  and  Voltaire,  on  the  other, — 
and  from  the  time  he  resumed  his  seat  to  this  day, 
infidelity  has  not  lifted  up  its  head  in  Shalersville. 
That  long  address  was  listened  to  with  the  closest 
attention  from  the  beginning  to  the  end.  Facts, 
arguments,  criticism,  satire,  and  scorn  were  inter- 
mingled in  about  equal  proportions.  Consterna- 
tion prevailed  in  the  ranks  of  the  skeptics.  Some 
were  angry,  and  all  were  mortified  to  the  last  de- 
gree. Poor  Veets  was  made  to  bear  the  personal 
disgrace  which  every  one  felt.  To  the  Christian 
public  the  hour  was  one  of  perfect  triumph.  As 
a  debater  and  champion  of  the  truth,  Graham  at 
once  took  rank  as  a  master. 

After  writhing  in  their  mortification  for  a  few 
days,  the  infidels  sought  another  champion  in  the 
person  of  Dr.  Samuel  Underbill,  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  He  promptly  sent  to  Graham  a  challenge 
for  a  debate,  to  be  held  early  in  autumn,  in  Man- 
tua. With  confidence  in  the  power  of  the  truth, 
and  yet  with  some  fear  and  trembling,  the  chal- 
lenge was  accepted.  During  the  intervening 
months  Mr.  Graham  reviewed  the  entire  field,  re- 
constructed and  made  large  additions  to  his  argu- 
ment, but  at  times  passed  through  hours  of  deep 
depression.  He  was  heard  to  say:  "I  don't  care 


134  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

to  be  crushed  myself,  for  I  can  stand  that;  what 
troubles  me  is — this  giant,  because  of  my  lack  of 
ability  to  defend  it,  may  crush  the  truth."  Most 
of  the  time,  however,  he  was  in  high  spirits,  and 
anxious  for  the  fray. 

Finally  the  appointed  day  arrived,  and  the  de- 
baters were  greeted  by  a  crowded  house  of  intelli- 
gent, earnest  people.  Graham  was  cool  and  calm, 
but  appeared  as  if  he  was  carrying  a  burden  of 
uncommon  weight.  Dr.  Underhill  evidently  looked 
upon  his  antagonist  very  much  as  Goliath  looked 
upon  David,  while  parleying  at  a  distance.  He 
was,  as  I  remember,  the  incarnation  of  easy  self- 
sufficiency — he  felt  his  task  was  to  be  that  of  a 
light,  airy  play-day. 

Graham  opened  the  debate,  spending  his  half- 
hour  in  setting  forth  the  importance  of  the  ques- 
tions involved;  and  presenting  a  single  affirma- 
tive argument,  the  fact  that  man  is  a  religious 
being,  and  must  worship  after  some  form — if  not 
Christianity,  then  some  other.  And  then  the  bat- 
tle raged  for  three  days,  both  men  bringing  into 
the  field  their  last  resources  and  utmost  strength. 
Graham  found  that  Underhill  was  not  a  Veets. 
He  had  closed  in  with  a  man  of  learning,  of  gen- 
tlemanly address,  and  a  fine  orator.  He  was  sup- 
ported by  the  ablest  skeptics  the  country  could 
produce.  Graham  stood  alone,  without  a  coun- 
selor. But  never  was  he  more  of  a  man — never 
appeared  anywhere  to  better  advantage  than  in 
that  conflict.  Whilst  listening  to  Underbill's  first 


MIGHTY  MEN.  135 

speech  he  took  a  measure  of  the  man,  and  had  no 
further  fears.  He  saw  that  he  was  lacking  in 
critical  precision,  that  his  logic  was  loose  and 
rickety,  and  that  he  would  be  ever  open  to  attack. 

Finally  the  last  day  and  last  hour  of  the  de- 
bate came.  Graham's  mind  was  at  a  white  heat, 
and  all  aflame.  He  felt  in  his  soul  the  inspira- 
tion of  a  victor,  and  that  not  in  a  single  instance 
had  the  truth  suffered  at  his  hands.  What  he 
felt  he  knew  others  felt;  it  was  in  the  air — it  was 
everywhere — and  no  one  was  more  conscious  of 
it  than  his  antagonist.  Graham  was  at  his  best, 
and  everybody  could  see  it;  and  it  could  be  seen 
with  equal  clearness  that  Underhill  was  a  crushed 
man.  With  bowed  head,  with  complexion  sad 
and  dark,  he  suffered  through  the  avalanche  of 
Graham's  closing  speech.  This  was  a  condensed 
presentation  of  the  main  points  in  the  debate, 
and  he  was  careful  to  note  that  not  a  position 
taken  had  been  shaken.  Underhill  confessed  his 
weakness  by  closing  the  debate  with  a  presenta- 
tion of  new  matter — matter  to  which  he  knew 
Graham  could  not  reply.  Every  one  saw  the  cow- 
ardly trick,  and  accepted  it  as  his  confession  of 
defeat.  For  Christianity,  and  for  Graham  per- 
sonally, the  discussion  was  an  absolute  triumph. 
He  should  have  the  credit  of  making  havoc  of  the 
infidelity  of  Portage  County  at  a  time  when  such 
a  work  was  much  needed. 

Here  were  great  men  on  great  occasions,  and 
the  results  of  these  mighty  conflicts  continue  to 


136  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

this  day.  In  bringing  on  his  debate,  the  Scotch- 
man was  the  occasion  of  opening  the  effectual 
door  for  Methodism  in  all  that  region  of  country. 
But  Cook  was  only  one  of  a  great  company,  who 
were  raised  up  on  the  soil,  and  sent  forth  to  carry 
the  gospel  into  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
mighty  West.  For  a  few  years  they  lingered  on 
the  Holston  Mountains,  as  on  watch-towers,  and 
took  time  to  survey  the  situation  in  the  empire- 
like  valley  below.  The  undisputed  possession  of 
the  mountains  was  taken  as  an  order  of  march  to 
new  conquests  in  the  unknown  realm  beyond. 
The  name  of  Wm.  McKendree  should  be  men- 
tioned first  among  these  hardy  pioneers.  Born  in 
a  cabin,  educated  in  the  woods,  he  was  a  child  of 
nature,  and  a  magnificent  man.  Cool  in  judg- 
ment, of  surpassing  wisdom,  a  good  disciplinarian, 
ever  on  the  wing  and  ^at  the  front,  at  times  a 
preacher  of  awful  power,  and  a  born  ruler  of  men, 
he  was  in  every  way  great,  like  the  West  where 
he  was  to  act  a  conspicuous  part.  Appointed,  in 
1796,  to  the  Western  Conference,  which  embraced 
the  territory  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  no  man 
could  be  small  and  grasp  that  field  of  labor;  and 
large  in  soul  as  he  might  be,  his  powers  would 
find  ample  room  for  expansion.  He  soon  made 
himself  known  throughout  all  that  region  of 
country  as  the  statesman,  the  hero,  and  the  evan- 
gelist— his  fame  filled  the  Church.  In  the  great 
revival  which  broke  out  under  the  labors  of  the 
McGee  brothers,  at  Cane  Ridge,  Kentucky,  he,  as 


MIGHTY  MEN.  137 

a  directing  officer  of  the  Church,  took  a  conspic- 
uous part.  The  impress  which  the  scattered 
population  of  those  States  received  from  him  and 
his  lieutenants,  went  far  to  make  them  good  citi- 
zens of  the  Republic. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  Poythress,  whose 
keen  and  comprehensive  mind  would  not  have 
lingered  an  hour  with  Methodism  had  he  not  seen 
in  it  the  elements  of  religious  empire.  Prema- 
turely he  broke  down  in  both  body  and  mind  be- 
neath the  toil  and  responsibility  he  had  assumed, 
else  he  might,  in  every  way,  have  been  the  peer 
of  McKendree.  The  almost  incredible  and  effi- 
cient labors  of  Benjamin  Lakin,  in  Kentucky  and 
Ohio,  have  made  him  one  of  the  heroes  of  the 
border  struggles.  Robert  R.  Roberts,  born  and 
educated  in  the  forest,  as  familiar  with  wild  beasts 
as  with  reckless  men,  and  always  a  simple  child  of 
nature,  was  mighty  in  handling  the  Word  of  God, 
controlling  a  Conference,  and  laying  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Church.  As  a  bishop,  his  rank  is 
among  the  ablest  and  best. 

Stevens  says  of  John  Sale:  "He  was  one  of 
the  most  heroic  evangelists  and  founders  of  West- 
ern Methodism,  though  only  five  lines  are  given 
to  his  memory  in  the  official  Minutes;  and  we 
know  not  the  precise  place  of  his  birth.  In  1796 
he  joined  the  itinerant  evangelists,  and  was  sent 
to  the  Swanino  Circuit,  in  the  wilds  of  Virginia, 
where  he  had  his  courage  and  fidelity  tested  in 
breasting  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  a  pioneer 


138          OUR  CO UNTR Y  AND  ME THODISM. 

preacher.  His  circuit  was  trie  Mallamuskest,  in 
the  lowlands  of  the  State.  Added  to  the  neces- 
sary hardships  connected  with  traveling  this  cir- 
cuit, it  was  a  very  sickly  region,  and  much  dreaded 
by  the  itinerant;  but  as  nothing  could  disgust  or 
deter  the  preachers  of  those  days  wherever,  in  the 
providence  God,  their  lot  was  cast,  Sale  went  in 
the  name  of  his  Master,  and  entered  upon  the 
work  assigned  him,  ready  to  die.  From  this  point 
he  gradually  moved  north,  lingering  four  years  on 
the  Holston  Mountains,  and  labored  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  in  Kentucky  and  Ohio.  His 
last  words  were :  '  My  last  battle  is  fought  and  the 
victory  sure !  Halleluiah !'  Judge  McLean,  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  regarded 
Sale  as  one  of  the  very  ablest  and  best  preachers 
he  ever  heard." 

Tobias  Gibson,  Moses  Floyd,  Hezekiah  Harri- 
man,  Abraham  Amos,  and  Learner  Blackman,  the 
conquerors  of  the  wicked,  cut-throat  city  of 
Natchez,  in  1799,  eighteen  years  before  the  Mis- 
sissippi Territory  became  a  State  in  the  Union, 
proved  to  be  exactly  the  brave  men  needed  to 
rescue  that  region  from  barbarism,  and  rebuild  so- 
ciety on  a  foundation  of  intelligence  and  virtue. 
The  foundation  of  the  Church  in  Ohio  was  laid  by 
McCormick,  a  local  preacher  of  great  zeal  and  in- 
fluence. He  was  aided  by  Kobler,  Henry  Smith, 
Lewis  Hunt,  and  Ezekiel  Dimmitt,  a  layman.  Dim- 
mitt  was  deeply  pious,  and  physically  a  very  pow- 
erful man.  His  presence  at  a  camp-meeting  ren- 


MIGHTY  MEN.  139 

dered  unnecessary  the  employment  of  any  police 
force. 

Of  the  character  of  the  itinerant  ministers  of 
his  times  McCormick,  who  had  seen  much  of  them, 
says:  "I  am  now  grown  old,  and  what  can  I  say 
respecting  Methodism?  I  believe  its  plan  is  of 
Divine  origin,  and  millions  will  with  me  have 
cause  to  thank  and  adore  the  Lord  through  eter- 
nity for  it,  and  for  the  whole  of  Methodism.  I  do 
not  believe  there  was  ever  such  a  set  of  men  since 
the  apostles'  day  for  zeal,  fortitude,  and  usefulness, 
in  bringing  sinners  to  the  knowledge  of  them- 
selves and  of  Christ,  as  our  traveling  preachers." 

Central  Ohio  was  penetrated  as  early  as  1800 
by  Robert  Manly,  Jesse  Stoneman,  James  Quinn, 
and  Daniel  Hitt,  all  men  of  commanding  ability. 
Henry  Shewell,  a  local  preacher  from  Virginia, 
introduced  Methodism  into  the  Western  Reserve, 
and  he  was  followed,  in  1803,  by  Shadrach  Bost- 
wick  and  Beauchamp,  two  pulpit  orators  of  sur- 
passing ability. 

For  some  years  before  they  were  admitted  as 
States  into  the  Union,  Indiana  and  Illinois  had 
been  under  the  tutelage  of  Methodism,  led  by 
such  men  as  Peter  Cartwright,  Nathan  Robertson, 
Benjamin  Young  (brother  to  Jacob  Young),  Jesse 
Walker,  James  Axley,  J.  Page,  L.  Garrett,  and 
others,  who  were  well  qualified  to  lay  in  religion 
the  foundation  of  States. 

Passing  into  the  South,  we  find  that  the  field 
is  occupied  by  able  and  heroic  men.  Bishops 


1 40          OUR  CO UNTR Y  AND  ME THODISM. 

Coke  and  Asbury  spent  much  of  their  time  in 
that  region.  There  are  James  O'Kelly,  Lewis  My- 
ers, Win.  M.  Kennedy,  James  Russell,  Lovick  and 
Reddick  Pierce,  Richmond  Nolley,  Hope  Hull, 
Samuel  Dunwoody,  Wm.  Capers,  John  Early,  and 
many  others  of  like  courage  and  ability.  These 
were  men  of  eloquence  and  power  in  the  pulpit, 
and  of  commanding  influence  with  all  classes. 
When  converted,  James  Russell  did  not  know  the 
letters  of  the  alphabet,  but  he  became  an  indefat- 
igable student,  and  for  some  years  was  known  as 
the  silver-tongued  orator  of  South  Carolina.  At 
an  early  day  there  was  not  a  settlement  and 
scarcely  a  family  south  of  the  Potomac  which 
had  not  felt,  more  or  less,  the  influence  of  the 
Methodist  evangelist. 

Among  these  remarkable  men  must  be  men- 
tioned the  name  of  Lewis  Evans,  a  free  negro,  a 
local  preacher  from  Virginia,  who,  as  a  shoe- 
maker, settled  in  Fayetteville,  South  Carolina. 
Such  was  the  prevalence  of  drunkenness,  profan- 
ity, the  lewdness  of  all  classes  in  the  place,  that 
he  was  moved  to  attempt  their  reformation.  Ev- 
ery obstruction  conceivable  was  put  in  his  way  by 
the  white  people  ;  but  he  proved  to  be  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  preachers  that  ever  appeared  in 
the  State.  He  organized  a  society  composed  of 
both  whites  and  blacks,  built  a  church,  for  some 
time  kept  it  crowded  with  devout  worshipers,  white 
and  black,  and  finally  sent  for  the  regular  preacher 
to  take  in  charge  the  growing  work.  Wm.  Ca- 


MIGHTY  MEN.  141 

pers,  afterwards  bishop,  then  on  his  first  charge, 
responded  to  this  call. 

Garrettson,  Bangs,  Case,  Lane,  Fillmore,  and 
others  of  like  fame,  swept  over  Northern  New 
York,  penetrated  Canada,  and  laid  the  foundations 
of  Methodism  in  all  parts  of  the  Dominion. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that,  in  the  rise  of  Meth- 
odism in  America,  able  men,  raised  upon  the  soil, 
were  never  wanting  to  man  all  the  strategic 
points  in  the  work.  The  Lord  of  the  harvest 
seemed  to  be  ever  on  the  look-out  for  workmen. 
Had  Romanism  in  this  country  no  priests  except 
such  as  had  been  converted  from  the  ranks  of  the 
wicked  by  its  instrumentality,  its  altars  would  be 
practically  deserted.  But  whilst  popery  is  a  bale- 
ful, exotic  plant,  Methodism  is  indigenous  to  the 
soil  and  thoroughly  American. 

At  a  later  day  J.  B.  Finley  and  Russel  Bige- 
low,  in  Ohio,  were  regarded  as  the  peers  of  the 
best  men  that  lived  in  the  State.  The  itinerancy 
brought  them  into  contact  with  the  roughest  and 
most  wicked  of  the  borderers ;  but  thousands  of 
these  became  Christians,  some  of  them  ministers, 
and  other  thousands  received  such  checks  in  the 
ways  of  vice  as  greatly  contributed  to  the  peace 
of  society.  Candid  students  of  history  are  free  to 
admit  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  commanding 
influence  of  these  ministers,  many  localities  would 
surely  have  lapsed  into  barbarism. 

Nor  was  the  age  of  able  and  heroic  men  con- 
fined to  the  pioneer  period  of  Methodism.  Stock- 


142          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

ton,  Bascom,  Maffitt,  Cookman,  Spicer,  Durbin, 
Simpson,  Milburn,  Olin,  Trimble,  and  others,  serve 
honorably  as  a  connecting  link  between  the  pres- 
ent and  the  past.  For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  Simpson  as  an  orator  had  no  peer  in  the 
American  pulpit.  Dr.  T.  L.  Cuyler  speaks  as  fol- 
lows of  Dr.  Stephen  Olin : 

"The  giant  in  those  days,  physically  and  men- 
tally, was  President  Stephen  Olin.  The  weight 
of  his  spear  was  '  like  a  weaver's  beam.'  All  the 
old  Middletonians  will  remember  how  he  used  to 
remind  them  of  Daniel  Webster  in  the  grandeur 
of  his  physique,  in  the  sonorous  tones  of  his  voice, 
and  in  the  majestic  power  of  his  utterances. 
He  was  several  inches  taller  than  Webster,  and 
was  more  graceful  in  his  delivery.  The  congre- 
gation in  the  principal  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Middletown  always  knew  when  Dr. 
Olin  was  going  to  preach,  because  the  astral 
lamps  were  removed  from  the  pulpit,  lest  he 
should  smash  them  with  the  sweep  of  his  long 
arms.  An  imperial  king  of  men  was  Olin,  who 
combined  massive  logic  with  a  glowing  fervor 
that  swept  his  audience  like  a  prairie-fire." 

Daniel  Curry  and  Daniel  D.  Whedon  were, 
each  in  his  own  way,  master  minds.  In  philoso- 
phy and  theology,  we  regard  Whedon  as  the 
acutest  mind  of  Methodism.  As  editor,  Dr.  Thos. 
E.  Bond,  a  local  preacher,  heads  a  long  column 
of  able  men.  When  academies,  colleges,  and  uni- 
versities arose  in  Methodism,  learned  men  were 


MIGHTY  MEN.  143 

not  wanting  to  honor  the  professor's  chair.  Meth- 
odist laymen,  as  judges,  senators,  and  governors 
of  States,  have  been  an  honor  to  both  Church  and 
State.  The  Presidential  mansion  never  more  fully 
commanded  the  admiration  of  good  people  than 
when  under  the  sway  of  Methodism.  Methodist 
women  led  the  female  temperance  hosts  in  this 
country.  The  same  distinguishing  features  char- 
acterize the  work  of  the  Church  among  our  for- 
eign population.  If  the  Nation  had  its  James 
Otis  and  Patrick  Henry,  the  Church  has  had  her 
Summerfield,  Bascom,  Maffitt,  Cookman,  and 
Simpson.  In  counsel,  Asbury  was  the  peer  of 
Washington. 


is  the  most  powerful  element  in  the  re- 
G3BS    ligious  prosperity  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  one 
of  the  firmest  pillars  of  our  civil  and  religious  institutions." 
144  — ROBERT  BAIRD. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

METHODISM  IN  CONTACT  WITH  THE  NATION,  MOLD- 
ING ITS  INSTITUTIONS. 

"TI7ITHOUT  doubt,  Methodism  produced  its 
*  »  sharpest  and  most  decided  effects  upon  the 
lives  of  the  people  by  the  unparalleled  power 
with  which  it  presented  to  them  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  All  had  heard  of  the  gospel,  but  a  large 
majority  thought  and  felt  that  they  were  hearing 
the  gospel  itself  for  the  first  time.  The  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel,  manifestly  attended  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven,  leaves  no 
room  for  skepticism.  Its  most  characteristic  doc- 
trines— a  full  and  free  salvation  for  all  men,  a 
present  faith,  immediate  regeneration  by  the 
power  of  God,  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  and  a 
knowledge  of  acceptance  with  God — were  as  new 
and  startling  as  if  they  had  then  fallen  from  the 
lips  of  prophets  and  apostles.  The  preaching  of 
Benjamin  Abbott  was  often  attended  with  marvel- 
ous power— a  single  sermon  often  resulting  in  the 
conversion  of  a  score  of  souls;  and  he  was  only 
one  of  hundreds  whose  preaching  was  blest  of 
God  in  a  similar  manner,  if  not  to  an  equal  ex- 
tent. The  preaching  of  these  men  was  perhaps 
the  more  effectual  because  it  was  known  that 

13  145 


146  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

they  had  not  been  favored  with  a  scholastic  edu- 
cation. Such  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  had 
been  witnessed  by  the  people  nowhere  except 
among  the  Methodists. 

Methodist  influence  was  by  no  means  confined 
to  its  own  household.  The  old-established 
Churches  shared  largely  in  the  fruits  of  every  re- 
vival that  was  held,  and  hundreds  of  people  were 
brought  more  or  less  under  the  sway  of  the  gos- 
pel who  did  not  become  pronounced  Christians. 
A  multitude  was  made  the  better  for  this  world,  if 
not  qualified  for  the  next. 

It  was  thus  that  Methodism,  in  the  fullness  of 
its  evangelizing  power,  was  brought  to  bear,  not 
only  upon  every  community,  but  especially  upon 
every  Church  in  the  country.  The  Eastern  and 
Scotch-Irish  Churches  were  too  old,  too  fixed,  if 
not  too  fossilized,  to  yield  at  once  to  this  new 
power,  and  hence  for  a  long  time  they  set  them- 
selves against  it;  but  in  the  West  the  spirit  of 
Methodism  was  all  dominant,  carried  everything 
before  it,  and  pre-eminently  so  at  the  great  Cane 
Ridge  revival  in  Kentucky.  A  looker-on  could 
not  distinguish  in  any  way  the  members  of  one 
denomination  from  those  of  another  at  those 
services. 

The  immense  camp-meetings  held  in  the  South, 
Middle  States,  and  West,  brought  together  the  in- 
fidels, the  thieves,  the  cut-throats,  murderers,  and 
scoundrels  generally,  who  had  sought  a  wide  range 
along  the  border  for  their  depredations;  and 


MOLDING  ITS  INSTITUTIONS.  147 

whilst  some  created  disturbance,  many  of  them 
were  thoroughly  converted,  and  ever  after  lived  as 
good  citizens.  This  country  was  never  favored 
with  more  pungent,  soul-searching,  and  powerful 
preaching  than  was  heard  at  these  gatherings  in 
the  woods.  Nature  seemed  to  lend  its  inspiration 
to  grace;  and  when  there  was  a  capacity  to  re- 
ceive both,  the  preacher  was  often  an  astonish- 
ment to  himself  and  to  his  friends.  If  Methodism 
deserves  the  credit  which  has  been  generally 
awarded  to  it,  of  saving  the  border  from  barbar- 
ism, its  energy  and  leavening  power  were  exerted 
largely  through  these  great  camp-meetings.  What 
the  tasty  village  church  was  to  the  klite  of  the 
town,  these  assemblies  in  the  forest  were  to  the 
motley  backwoods  crowds.  After  the  Cane  Ridge 
meeting  closed,  this  arm  of  evangelizing  service 
was  left  mostly  to  be  used  by  the  Methodists,  and 
it  was  exactly  suited  to  the  elastic  temper  and 
indomitable  push  of  the  denomination.  In  this 
respect,  to  the  ever  expanding  Great  West,  Meth- 
odism was  pre-eminently  as  the  "new  wine  in  the 
new  bottle."  Its  ever  active  and  powerful  pres- 
ence, in  all  the  Territories  west  of  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  more  than  all  other 
agencies  combined,  checked,  educated,  and  molded 
the  people  for  the  responsibilities  of  citizenship  in 
the  Republic. 

But  power  is  a  subtle  and  hidden  part  of  the 
constitution  of  nature — what  we  see  is  mostly  its 
effects;  and  we  can  not  satisfactorily  account  for 


148  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

the  success  of  Methodism,  unless  we  can  detect 
more  fully  its  points  of  actual  contact  with  the 
people.  A  great  victory  never  comes  except  from 
a  close  engagement.  The  leaven  must  be  thor- 
oughly intermixed  with  the  meal — an  item  of  the 
one  substance  placed  in  contact  with  an  item  of 
the  other — in  order  to  desirable  results. 

As  an  illustration  of  this  principle,  let  us  se- 
lect one  of  the  workmen  and  spend  a  few  weeks 
with  him  and  see  how  he  prosecutes  his  daily  toil 
in  the  vineyard  of  his  Master.  We  might  select 
any  one  of  a  thousand  who  have  been  in  the 
field;  but  we  will  take  Jacob  Young,  and  go  with 
him  to  his  second  charge. 

He  has  been  sent  into  the  Green  River  coun- 
try, Kentucky,  with  orders  to  organize  a  new 
circuit  of  some  five  hundred  miles  in  circumfer- 
ence. The  region  is  mostly  a  wild,  savage  waste, 
and  he  does  not  expect  to  meet  on  his  round  a 
human  being  he  ever  saw  before.  He  has  neither 
purse  nor  scrip,  and  barely  a  change  of  under- 
clothing. We  have  the  man  with  his  Bible, 
hymn-book,  and  horse,  and  these  are  about  all. 
We  will  let  him  tell  his  own  story:  "In  two  days 
I  arrived  at  Manoah  Lasley's,  where  I  spent  a  few 
days,  rested  my  horse,  and  recruited  my  ward- 
robe. I  found  myself  at  a  great  loss  to  know 
how  to  form  a  circuit  in  that  vast  wilderness,  and 
had  no  one  to  instruct  me.  I  preached  on  Sab- 
bath-day in  Father  Lasley's  house,  and  set  off  on 
Monday  on  my  great  and  important  enterprise. 


MOLDING  ITS  INSTITUTIONS.  149 

I  concluded  to  travel  five  miles,  as  nearly  as  I 
could  guess,  then  stop,  reconnoiter  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  find  some  kind  person  who  would  let 
me  preach  in  his  log-cabin;  and  so  on  till  I  had 
performed  the  entire  round.  I  had  a  long  ride, 
through  a  dreary  country.  Late  in  the  evening 
I  came  to  a  little  log-cabin  standing  in  the  woods, 
with  no  stable  or  outbuildings  of  any  kind.  See- 
ing a  woman  in  the  door,  I  rode  up,  and  asked  if 
I  could  stay  all  night.  She  seemed  to  think  not. 
I  paused  a  few  moments,  thinking  what  to  do.  I 
was  afraid  to  go  any  further,  lest  I  should  have 
to  lie  out  all  night.  That  I  was  afraid  to  do,  as 
the  weather  was  very  cold,  and  there  were  always 
a  great  many  ravenous  wolves  in  the  barrens. 
My  life  would  be  in  danger,  and  there  was  noth- 
ing to  encourage  me  to  stay  at  this  place.  I 
knew  I  would  have  to  tie  my  tired,  hungry  horse 
to  a  tree,  without  shelter  or  food.  The  woman 
was  unwilling  to  let  me  stay.  She  was  not  en- 
tirely alone,  but  had  several  children,  and  one 
daughter  partly  grown,  which  inclined  me  to  think 
I  could  stay  with  safety. 

"I  finally  concluded  to  let  her  know  who  I 
was,  and  what  business  I  was  on.  I  said  to  her: 
*I  am  a  Methodist  preacher,  sent  by  Bishop  As- 
bury  to  try  to  form  a  circuit.'  This  information 
appeared  to  electrify  her.  Her  countenance 
changed  and  her  eyes  fairly  sparkled.  She  stood 
some  time  without  speaking,  and  then  exclaimed: 
4  Has  a  Methodist  preacher  come  at  last?  Yes, 


150          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

brother,  you  shall  stay  all  night.  Mr.  Carson  is 
not  at  home,  but  we  will  do  the  best  we  can  for 
you  with  a  glad  heart.'  I  alighted  from  my  horse, 
and  went  into  the  house.  The  children  clustered 
around  me  as  if  some  near  friend  had  come.  After 
having  gone  through  the  usual  ceremonies,  my 
next  concern  was  to  take  care  of  my  horse.  Their 
oldest  daughter,  a  pleasant  girl,  provided  me  with 
a  halter,  and  directed  me  to  a  suitable  tree  where 
my  horse  could  stand.  I  soon  found  I  was  to 
have  a  comfortable  night's  rest.  They  furnished 
me  with  plenty  of  good,  sound  corn  for  my  horse. 
The  cabin,  and  what  little  furniture  they  had,  was 
neat  and  clean.  Supper  was  soon  served  up,  just 
such  as  suited  me — corn-bread,  fried  venison,  and 
crop-vine  tea. 

"Mrs.  Carson  then  told  me  her  history.  She 
and  her  husband  were  both  raised  in  North  Caro- 
lina. They  both  experienced  a  change  of  heart 
when  young.  Her  husband  had  been  a  class- 
leader  for  some  years  before  he  left  his  native 
State.  They  had  migrated  in  order  to  buy  land 
for  their  children.  They  had  purchased  a  pretty 
large  tract  on  one  of  the  branches  of  Green  River, 
lying  about  ten  miles  from  where  they  then  lived, 
and  her  husband  was  now  at  work  on  their  own 
laud.  He  had  cleared  out  a  small  farm  and  built 
a  tolerably  large  house,  which  he  was  finishing. 
By  the  time  I  came  round  again  they  would  have 
it  ready  to  preach  in. 
-.  "  I  spent  the  evening  pleasantly,  and  by  the 


MOLDING  ITS  INSTITUTIONS.  1 5 1 

time  day  dawned  was  on  my  way  in  search  of 
another  appointment.  My  ride  was  along  the  di- 
viding ridge  between  Green  River  and  Salt  River. 
In  the  evening  I  stopped  at  the  house  of  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Honnel.  He  was  in  pretty  good 
circumstances  for  that  country — had  a  convenient 
house,  and  very  willingly  opened  it  for  preaching. 
I  stayed  all  night,  and  the  next  day  preached  to  a 
small  congregation ;  had  some  encouragement, 
and  in  the  afternoon  went  on  my  way  rejoicing. 
Late  in  the  evening  I  came  to  a  Mr.  Cooper's. 
He  was  a  local  preacher,  but,  from  the  manner  in 
which  he  received  me,  I  thought  he  took  me  to  be 
an  impostor.  In  family  prayer  he  officiated  him- 
self. The  family  were  reserved,  and  I  had  noth- 
ing to  say.  They  fed  my  horse,  gave  me  my  sup- 
per, and  a  place  to  sleep.  Next  morning  they  told 
me  I  might  preach.  The  word  was  circulated, 
and  at  eleven  the  congregation  began  to  come  to- 
gether. The  first  man  that  came  was  a  Seceder. 
He  became  much  attached  to  me,  and  gave  me  all 
the  encouragement  he  could.  I  tried  to  preach, 
God  gave  me  much  freedom,  and  we  had  an  ex- 
cellent meeting ;  and  brother  Cooper  wept  much. 
Here  we  organized  a  class,  and  having  tarried  one 
day  longer,  the  next  morning  I  started  early. 
Brother  Cooper  and  his  wife  went  with  me. 

"About  ten  o'clock  we  halted  at  Mr.  Mc- 
Cowan's.  Here  I  was  astonished  to  find  a  large 
congregation  assembled.  This  being  the  Sabbath, 
they  had  come  hoping  to  meet  the  preacher,  hear- 


152          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

ing  that  there  was  one  on  his  way  to  form  a  circuit. 
The  house  was  a  large  double  cabin,  with  both 
rooms  full  and  a  good  many  in  the  yard.  I  saw 
many  Methodists  among  them,  and  they  were 
singing  Methodist  hymns  in  a  revival  spirit.  I 
spent  most  of  the  afternoon  in  class-meeting. 
This  was  truly  a  good  day  to  my  soul  and  to  the 
souls  of  others.  Here  I  found  a  class  of  about 
fifty  members  ready  formed  to  my  hand.  I  took 
some  pains  to  learn  the  history  of  this  society. 
It  was  formed  by  a  local  preacher  who  had  resided 
several  years  in  that  vicinity.  I  regulated  the  so- 
ciety, appointed  a  class-leader,  etc.,  and  went  on, 
bearing  toward  Crab  Orchard.  I  preached  at  Mr. 
Samuel  Stewart's,  and  found  a  small  class.  Here 
I  regulated  matters,  and  appointed  a  class-leader. 
In  this  neighborhood  I  found  a  great  many  Bap- 
tists, who  received  me  as  the  Lord's  messenger. 
I  felt  myself  at  home,  and  would  have  gladly  spent 
days  in  the  place,  but  my  work  was  before  me. 
Before  night  I  met  with  a  man  who  gave  me  a 
cordial  invitation  to  preach  in  his  house,  where, 
finding  a  small  society  already  organized,  I  made 
them  a  class  paper,  appointed  a  leader,  etc." 

S~>me  chapters  back  we  referred  to  the  fact 
that  wherever,  by  emigration  or  otherwise,  the 
sparks  or  firebrands  of  Methodism  were  carried, 
they  were  likely  to  kindle  new  fires  of  devotion. 
This  self-propagating  power  of  the  Church  is  one 
of  the  remarkable  sources  of  its  power  and  useful- 
ness. Mr.  Young  continues: 


MOLDING  ITS  INSTITUTIONS.  153 

"  I  traveled  about  twenty  miles  on  Fishing 
Creek,  and  put  up  with  an  old  gentleman  by  the 
name  of  Chappel.  This  was  a  curious  neighbor- 
hood. Several  things  worthy  of  remark  came  un- 
der my  observation.  There  was  a  Methodist  so- 
ciety here,  the  preacher  of  which  was  a  colored- 
man  by  the  name  of  Jacob.  I  believe  every  mem- 
ber had  been  awakened  under  his  preaching,  and, 
by  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Chappel's  daughters,  he 
had  organized  them  into  a  class.  One  of  the  girls 
made  out  a  class  paper,  and  they  appointed  Jacob 
leader.  He  was  both  preacher  and  leader,  and, 
though  he  could  not  read  a  word,  he  could  preach 
a  good  sermon.  He  had  a  kind  master,  who 
would  read  for  him  Sunday  evenings,  and  when 
a  text  was  read  that  suited  Jacob,  he  would  ask 
his  master  to  read  it  again,  memorize  the  text, 
book,  chapter,  and  verse ;  then  he  was  ready  for 
his  work.  The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath.  The 
congregation  was  large,  and  I  found  his  society 
in  excellent  order.  I  preached  several  times,  and 
left  this  delightful  place  Monday  morning. 

"  I  moved  on  towards  the  West.  Some  time 
after  dark,  and  while  stopping  at  a  tavern,  a  man 
called  at  the  door.  Being  asked  what  he  wanted, 
he  inquired  if  a  Methodist  preacher  was  not  there. 
I  heard  him,  and  was  soon  on  the  porch.  He  said 
he  understood  I  was  forming  a  circuit  through  the 
country,  and  wanted  me  to  take  in  his  house  for 
one  of  the  appointments.  I  asked  him  how  far 
off  he  lived.  'Ten  miles,'  he  said.  I  replied,  'I 


154          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM, 

will  go  with  you  to-night.'  At  a  very  late  hour 
we  arrived  at  a  small  cabin.  He  kindled  a  fire  on 
the  hearth,  the  light  shone  brightly,  and  I  took  a 
close  view  of  everything  within.  I  am  sure  it 
would  have  frightened  anybody  but  a  backwoods- 
man. There  was  no  floor  in  the  house.  They 
had  leveled  off  the  ground  and  made  it  somewhat 
smooth.  There  were  hickory  poles  laid  across  in 
the  place  of  joists.  Some  clapboards,  laid  on 
these  poles,  constituted  the  upper  floor.  There 
was  neither  bedstead,  chair,  nor  table  in  the 
house.  Some  small  forks  had  been  driven  down 
in  the  west  corner  of  the  cabin.  They  laid  two 
round  poles  in  the  forks,  and  placed  clapboards 
on  these  poles.  This  was  their  bedstead.  Some 
bedding,  such  as  it  was,  formed  all  the  sleeping- 
place  I  saw  for  the  man  and  his  wife.  The  little 
negro  boy  slept  on  the  ground-floor,  with  a  deer- 
skin under  him.  I  saw  no  cupboard  nor  furni- 
ture, excepting  some  earthen  bowls  of  inferior 
quality.  The  woman  of  the  house  was  badly 
crippled. 

"  I  felt  rather  melancholy,  and  my  mind  began 
to  run  back  to  the  days  of  other  years,  when  I 
was  dwelling  among  my  own  people  in  ease  and 
plenty.  Here  I  was,  in  a  strange  land,  without 
friends  or  money  The  squalid  appearance  of  the 
inside  of  the  house  made  an  impression  on  my  mind 
that  never  can  be  erased. .  Surrounded  by  these 
gloomy  circumstances,  I  had  no  friend  to  flee  to 
but  the  Redeemer.  I  kneeled  down  and  prayed, 


MOLDING  ITS  INSTITUTIONS-  155 

and  the  Lord  blessed  me.  I  felt  happy,  and  re- 
signed to  my  lot.  The  next  thing  was  to  make 
my  bed  and  lie  down  to  sleep.  I  spread  for  my 
bed  a  blanket  that  I  kept  under  my  saddle,  and 
took  a  stool  for  my  pillow.  I  had  another  blanket 
on  which  I  rode.  This  I  used  for  a  sheet.  My 
saddle-bags,  on  the  stool,  made  my  pillow  soft ; 
my  overcoat  became  my  covering.  I  thanked 
God  that  I  had  a  pretty  comfortable  bed.  I 
thought  within  myself,  I  am  better  off  than  my 
Savior  was,  for  he  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head ; 
and  far  happier  than  the  rich,  who  roll  on  beds 
of  down  and  enjoy  the  luxuries  of  life. 

"I  had  a  comfortable  night's  rest,  and  rose  in 
the  morning  much  refreshed  and  prepared  for  my 
day's  labor.  Breakfast  was  soon  served  up  on  a 
board  bench.  It  consisted  of  corn-bread  and  milk, 
but  no  spoons.  When  I  turned  up  the  bowl  to 
drink,  a  black  ring  would  make  its  appearance 
from  the  sediments  in  the  bottom.  Breakfast  be- 
ing over,  I  retired  to  the  woods,  and  spent  the 
forenoon  in  reading  and  praying  till  preaching- 
time.  Returning,  I  saw  the  cabin  pretty  well 
filled  with  men  and  women.  Although  it  was  late 
in  November,  many  of  them  had  neither  hats  nor 
bonnets  on  their  heads  nor  shoes  on  their  feet.  I 
took  my  stand  opposite  the  door,  read  a  hymn, 
began  to  sing,  and  while  I  was  singing  a  remark- 
able man  made  his  appearance.  He  was  so  dis- 
tinguished from  other  men  that  I  will  give  some 
account  of  him.  He  was  very  large,  with  strongly- 


156          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

marked  features,  and  of  great  natural  courage. 
He  had  a  high  forehead,  very  wide  between  the 
eyes,  with  a  broad  face.  His  whole  form  was 
well-proportioned.  His  eye-balls  were  remark- 
able, showing  a  great  deal  of  white.  He  fixed  his 
eyes  upon  me,  and  looked  as  if  he  were  scanning 
my  whole  person.  Had  I  not  been  used  to  seeing 
rough  men  on  the  frontier  of  Kentucky,  I  should 
have  been  frightened.  I  looked  him  full  in  the 
eyes,  and  scanned  him  closely.  His  hair  ap- 
peared as  if  it  had  never  been  combed,  and  he 
made  me  think  of  old  Nebuchadnezzar.  He  wore 
no  hat ;  his  collar  was  open  and  his  breast  bare ; 
there  was  neither  shoe  nor  moccasin  on  his  feet." 

Young  found  out  that  this  man  was  brother- 
in-law  to  Micajah  Harp,  who  for  some  time 
was  a  terror  in  Kentucky,  as  the  leader  of  a 
band  of  robbers,  and  that,  without  doubt,  he  had 
passed  through  many  a  bloody  fray.  But  he 
continued  to  attend  Young's  meetings,  became 
soundly  converted,  had  his  hair  cut  and  combed, 
procured  a  hat  and  shoes,  his  wife  taught  him  to 
read,  he  was  appointed  class-leader,  and  lived  a 
useful  man. 

In  this  way  Young  put  in  three  weeks  of  in- 
cessant labor,  having  a  new  experience  at  every 
point,  and  finally  reached  in  health  Rev.  N.  Las- 
ley's,  the  place  where  he  commenced  to  form  his 
circuit.  He  then  formed  the  plan  of  a  four  weeks' 
circuit,  and  started  on  his  round  again.  After  lay- 
ing out  his  work,  which  was  to  begin  the  next 


MOLDING  ITS  INSTI7  UTIONS.  157 

day,  lie  says:  "Like  Isaac,  I  walked  out  into  the 
woods  to  meditate,  and  thought  I  was  the  hap- 
piest mortal  that  breathed  the  vital  air."  He  re- 
ported at  Conference,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  a 
membership  of  about  three  hundred  and  sixty. 
He  had  received  not  quite  thirty  dollars,  and 
"  such  cotton  clothes  as  the  women  of  his  charge 
saw  proper  to  make  him." 

We  have  given  at  length  Mr.  Young's  account 
of  the  formation  of  the  Green  River  Circuit,  as  in 
no  other  way  could  we  convey  a  correct  and  com- 
plete idea  of  the  contact  of  Methodism  with  the 
whole  population  of  this  country.  Circuits  and 
stations  like  this  one,  an  immense  net-work,  cov- 
ered the  Nation  as 

"  A  golden  mesh  to  entrap  the  hearts  of  men." 

— Shakspeare. 

The  three  hundred  Methodists  Young  left  behind 
him  represented  nearly  every  citizen  of  that  re- 
gion, and  each  one  had,  more  or  less,  been  brought 
under  the  influence  of  the  gospel.  Such  was  the 
part  Methodism  was  acting  everywhere  among  the 
people,  publishing  Christianity  as  the  foundation 
of  the  empire.  As  there  was  no  other  agency  in 
America  that  was  at  all  competent  to  do  this 
work,  is  it  not  clear  that  this  body  of  men  was 
raised  up  by  a  special  Heavenly  Providence  and 
by  a  holy  baptism  qualified  to  do  it? 

Another  and  a  very  different  illustration  of  the 
agency  of  Methodism  as  the  promoter  of  the  moral 
welfare  of  the  country  must  be  given,  and  it  is 


158  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

only  one  of  a  class  which  might  be  numbered  by 
thousands.  I  take  it  from  the  "Autobiography  of 
Peter  Cartwright:" 

"  In  the  month  of  April,  1828,  Brothers  Dew, 
Thompson,  and  myself  met  at  St.  L/ouis,  to  take 
passage  on  board  a  steamboat  to  the  General  Con- 
ference in  Pittsburg.  We  had  never  been  on 
board  a  steamboat  before — at  least  I  never  had. 
They  were  then  a  new  thing  among  us.  So  we 
took  passage  on  board  the  Velocipede — Mr.  Ray, 
captain.  Before  we  went  aboard,  Brothers  Dew 
and  Thompson,  with  the  kindest  feelings  imagin- 
able, thought  it  their  duty  to  caution  me  to  be 
quiet ;  for  these  steamboat  fellows,  passengers  and 
all,  were  desperadoes.  They  knew  I  was  out- 
spoken, loved  everybody,  and  feared  nobody. 
They  were  afraid  I  would  get  into  some  difficulty 
with  somebody.  I  thanked  them  very  kindly  for 
their  special  care  over  me.  'But,'  said  I,  'breth- 
ren, take  care  of  yourselves.  I  think  I  know  how 
to  behave  myself,  and  make  others  behave  them- 
selves, if  need  be.' 

"When  we  got  aboard  we  had  a  crowded  cabin, 
a  mixed  multitude — some  deists,  some  atheists, 
some  Universalists,  a  great  many  profane  swearers, 
drunkards,  fiddlers,  and  dancers.  We  dropped  down 
to  the  barracks  below  St.  Louis,  and  there  came 
aboard  eight  or  ten  United  States  army  officers, 
and  we  had  a  jolly  set,  I  assure  you.  They  drank, 
fiddled,  danced,  swore,  played  cards — men  and 
women  too.  I  walked  about,  said  nothing,  but 


MOLDING  ITS  INSTITUTIONS.  159 

plainly  saw  we  were  in  a  bad  scrape ;  but  there 
was  no  way  to  help  ourselves.  Brother  Thomp- 
son came  to  me  and  said : 

"'Lord,  have  mercy  on  me!  What  shall 
we  do?' 

" '  Go  to  your  berth,'  said  I,  '  and  stay  there 
quietly.' 

"'No,'  said  he,  'I  will  reprove  them.' 

"'Now,  brother,'  said  I,  'do  not  cast  your 
pearls  before  swine.' 

"'Well,'  said  he,  'I  will  go  on  deck;  I  won't 
stay  in  the  cabin.' 

"  Up  he  started,  and  when  he  got  there,  be- 
hold they  were  playing  cards  from  one  end  of  the 
deck  to  the  other.  Back  he  came  again,  and  said: 

'"What  shall  I  do?     I  can  not  stand  it!' 

"'Well,'  said  I,  'Brother  Thompson,  be  quiet 
and  behave  yourself.  You  have  no  way  to  rem- 
edy your  condition,  unless  you  jump  overboard 
and  swim  to  shore.' 

"So  things  went  on  for  several  days  and 
nights.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  there  came 
aboard  a  Captain  Waters.  He  had  a  new  fiddle 
and  a  pack  of  cards.  He  was  a  professed  infidel. 
Card-playing  was  renewed  all  over  the  cabin. 
The  captain  of  the  boat  was  as  fond  of  card-play- 
ing and  drinking  as  any  of  them.  There  was  a 
lieutenant  of  the  regular  army  aboard,  and,  al- 
though he  was  very  wicked,  yet  he  had  been 
raised  by  religious  parents.  His  wife,  as  he  told 
me,  was  a  good  Christian.  In  walking  the  guard, 


160          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

this  lieutenant,  whose  name  was  Baker,  and  my- 
self fell  into  conversation,  and,  being  by  ourselves, 
I  took  occasion  to  remonstrate  with  him  on  the 
subject  of  profanity.  He  readily  admitted  it  was 
wrong,  and  said:  'I  have  been  better  taught;  but 
O,'  said  he,  'the  demoralizing  life  of  a  soldier!' 

"There  was  also  a  Major  Biddle  on  board — a 
professed  infidel,  but  gentlemanly  in  his  manners. 
He  afterward  fell  in  a  duel  in  St.  Louis.  In  pri- 
vate conversation,  I  remonstrated  against  his  pro- 
fanity. He  agreed  with  me  in  all  I  said.  In  this 
way  I  got  to  talk  with  many  of  them,  and  they 
mostly  ceased  to  swear  profanely  in  my  presence. 
Presently  they  gathered  round  the  table  and  com- 
menced playing  cards.  I  walked  carelessly  up 
and  looked  on.  Lieutenant  Baker  and  Captain 
Waters  looked  up  to  me.  I  knew  they  felt  re- 
proved. Said  one  of  them  to  me:  'We  are  not 
blacklegs;  we  are  not  playing  for  money,  but  just 
to  kill  time.' 

"'Sit  down  here,'  said  Baker,  'and  I  will  show 
you  what  we  are  doing.' 

"'No,  no,'  said  I,  'my  friends;  I  am  afraid  it 
will  be  wrong.'" 

They  insisted  that  there  was  no  harm  in  it  at 
all,  and  out  of  this  talk  grew  a  discussion  in  the 
cabin  between  Peter  Cartwright  and  Captain 
Waters.  The  captain  agreed  not  to  use  a  single 
oath,  and  Lieutenant  Baker  was  chosen  chairman. 
At  one  of  Cartwright's  home-thrusts,  he  (Cart- 
wright)  says: 


MOLDING  ITS  INSTITUTIONS.  1 6 1 

"  My  opponent  flew  into  a  violent  passion,  and 
swore  profanely.  As  he  belched  forth  his  horrid 
oaths,  I  took  him  by  the  chin  with  my  hand  and 
moved  his  jaws  together  and  made  his  teeth  rat- 
tle. He  rose  to  his  feet;  so  did  I.  He  drew  his 
fist,  and  swore  he  would  smite  me  to  the  floor. 
I/ieutenant  Baker  sprang  in  between  us,  saying: 

" ' Cartwright,  stand  back!  You  can  beat  him 
in  argument,  and  I  can  whip  him ;  and  if  there  is 
any  fighting  to  be  done,  I  am  his  man!  He 
pledged  his  word  and  honor  he  would  not  swear ; 
he  has  broken  his  word,  and  forfeited  his  honor!'" 

Both  men  drew  deadly  weapons,  and  they 
were  separated  only  as  Cartwright  sprang  in  be- 
tween them.  Waters  made  an  apology,  and  peace 
was  restored.  Cartwright  had  so  fully  the  sym- 
pathy of  all  on  board  that  the  following  Sabbath 
a  unanimous  request  was  made  that  religious 
services  be  held  on  board  the  boat.  Three  ser- 
mons were  preached  by  the  three  preachers  to 
well-behaved  congregations.  On  their  way  back 
from  General  Conference,  Cartwright  met  Baker 
at  Louisville;  and  he  says:  "  We  had  a  number  of 
preachers  on  board,  returning  from  the  General 
Conference.  And  we  had  preaching  almost  every 
day  and  night  from  that  place  to  St.  I/ouis,  for 
we  had  almost  entire  command  of  the  boat." 

Thus  the  itinerant  ministry  was  thrown  among 
all  sorts  of  people  everywhere;  and  often,  in  be- 
ing instant  in  season  and  out  of  season,  they 

reached  great  numbers  who  were  never  seen  in 

u 


162  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

Church.  Superior  ability  and  courage  always 
commands  respect  from  such  as  can  appreciate 
high  qualities  of  mind,  and  often  the  champions 
of  crime  were  men  of  marked  intelligence.  Uni- 
versally as  Methodism  was  diffused  from  the  be- 
ginning, it  was  impossible  for  any  class  of  citizens 
to  avoid  in  some  way  coming  in  contact  with  it. 
Thomas  Smith,  one  of  the  bravest  of  the 
brave,  gives  the  following  account  of  the  way 
and  manner  Methodism  was  brought  into  contact 
with  the  people  of  Lyons,  New  York.  He  says: 
"  Here  we  had  a  respectable  society,  and  a  small 
meeting-house;  but  the  people  of  Lyons  were 
generally  wicked.  They  took  pleasure  in  unright- 
eousness, in  deriding  the  ways  of  God,  and  in  per- 
secuting the  humble  followers  of  Jesus  Christ. 
They  interrupted  and  insulted  us  in  our  religious 
worship,  and  on  this  evening  they  were  worse 
than  usual.  I  paused  till  I  got  their  attention, 
and  then  remarked  that  I  should  not  wonder  if 
Lyons  should  be  visited  on  the  morrow  in  a  way 
that  it  never  had  been  before,  and  perhaps  never 
would  be  again  to  the  close  of  time.  We  then 
had  quietness  to  the  close  of  the  meeting.  When 
the  congregation  was  dismissed,  and  I  had  come 
out  of  the  house,  the  people  gathered  around  me, 
and  with  one  voice,  cried  out:  'For  God's  sake, 
tell  us  what  is  to  happen  here  to-morrow !'  I  re- 
plied: 'Let  to-morrow  speak  for  itself.'  I  went 
home  with  Judge  Dorsey,  a  short  distance  from 
the  town.  After  breakfast  the  next  day,  I  said  to 


MOLDING  ITS  INSTITUTIONS.  163 

Mrs.  Dorsey:  'I  wish  you  to  go  with  me  into 
Lyons  this  morning,  as  there  are  some  families  to 
which  I  can  not  get  access  without  you.'  She, 
being  acquainted  in  the  place,  readily  consented. 
At  nine  o'clock  A.  M.,  we  entered  the  town. 
Scores  from  the  country  were  already  there,  and 
the  place  was  in  commotion.  We  went  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  ,  where  we  were  politely  re- 
ceived. I  knew  if  we  could  storm  that  castle  the 
day  was  ours.  After  conversing  some  time,  I  re- 
marked that  Mrs.  Dorsey  and  myself  were  on  a 
visit  to  Lyons,  and  if  it  were  agreeable,  we  would 
pray  before  we  parted.  'By  all  means,  Mr.  Smith, 
by  all  means,  sir,'  was  the  response.  Before 
prayer  was  over  there  were  scores  of  people  at 
the  door,  and  by  this  time  the  order  of  the  day 
began  to  be  understood ;  and  they  that  feared  God 
were  at  their  posts,  coming  up  to  the  help  of  the 
Lord  against  the  mighty.  We  then  went  in  large 
procession  from  house  to  house,  entering  every 
door  in  order,  and  praying  for  the  souls  of  the 
families.  Our  little  band  soon  increased  to  some 
three  or  four  hundred.  When  we  came  near  the 
tavern,  where  we  had  been  so  derided,  it  was  in- 
quired. 'Will  they  admit  us?'  But  the  doors 
and  windows  being  open,  we  entered  in — and  was 
there  ever  such  a  shout  while  storming  Lucifer's 
castle?  At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  called 
a  halt,  to  see  what  was  done;  and  forming  a 
circle  on  the  green,  the  new  converts  were  invited 
within  the  circle,  when  thirty-two  came  in  who 


1 64  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

that  day  had  found  the  pearl  of  great  price — 
Christ  in  them  the  hope  of  glory.  These  thirty- 
two,  and  eight  more  were  added  to  the  Church  of 
God  that  afternoon.  Thanks  be  to  God !  this  was 
another  good  day's  work  in  the  Lord's  vineyard. 
This  meeting  produced  a  pleasing  change  in 
Lyons,  and  Methodism  gained  a  footing  in  that 
place  it  never  had  before.  To  God  be  all  the 
glory  1" 

The  unusual  and  informal  methods  adopted  at 
different  times  and  in  different  places  by  Meth- 
odist preachers  to  bring  the  gospel  to  bear  upon 
the  people,  if  written  out,  would  fill  volumes. 
They  made  the  people  and  their  peculiar  situa- 
tion and  temperament  a  study,  they  brought  to 
bear  upon  the  case  a  common  sense  of  the  widest 
range  and  of  the  most  practical  character,  and 
then  acted  accordingly.  Ryan  Case,  Nathan  and 
Heman  Bangs,  Giles,  Lane,  Sandford,  and  many 
others,  all  good  and  strong  men,  understood  New 
York  and  Canada  exactly,  and  hence  the  marvel- 
ous success  of  their  ministry.  J.  B.  Finley,  James 
Quinn,  and  a  host  besides,  raised  up  on  the  soil, 
all  devout  and  valiant  men,  were  equally  rich  in 
resources  and  successful  in  Ohio.  The  case  of 
the  Georgia  blacksmith,  and  the  way  the  truth 
was  preached,  sung,  and  beat  into  him,  resulting 
in  his  happy  conversion,  has  been  read  by  almost 
everybody.  And  was  not  Peter  Cartwright  raised 
up  that  Kentucky  and  Illinois,  when  trembling 
on  the  borders  of  barbarism,  might  have  some  one 


MOLDING  ITS  INSTITUTIONS.  165 

who  could  dare  and  rescue  and  save?  When,  at  a 
camp-meeting,  if  neither  argument  nor  love  nor 
decency  could  preserve  order,  and  the  rabble  came 
too  near  and  became  unendurable  and  abusive,  he 
hesitated  not  to  go  into  their  midst,  and  after  par- 
rying their  blows  once,  twice,  or  three  times,  and 
they  still  persisted  in  acts  of  violence,  his  fist  was 
likely  to  hit  some  one  on  the  "burr  of  his  ear," 
and  then  the  ring-leader  was  likely  to  "drop  as  if 
he  had  been  shot."  Such  contacts  of  Methodism 
with  the  people  were  very  unusual,  but  in  some 
cases  they  were  necessary  and  the  effects  salutary. 
Langdon  in  the  Bast,  Dimmitt  in  Ohio,  and  Cart- 
wright  in  Illinois,  at  a  camp-meeting,  were  each 
"  worth  a  thousand  men." 


of  ecclesiastical  history  have  estimated  that 
at  the  close  of  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era, 
Christianity  numbered  not  over  five  hundred  thousand  con- 
verts in  the  whole  world ;  but  in  eighty-six  years  American 
Christianity  alone  gained  eleven  million  five  hundred  thou- 
sand, or  twenty-three  times  as  many.  The  part  Methodism 
has  shared  in  this  work  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that 
about  four  million  five  hundred  thousand  of  the  twelve  mill- 
ion communicants,  or  over  one-third,  in  1886,  were  Methodists 
of  various  branches."  — DORCHESTER. 

166 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  METHODISM. 

IT  is  now  one  hundred  and  seven  years  since 
Methodism  in  America  took  on  an  organic 
form.  Springing  into  action  spontaneously  in  the 
persons  of  Robert  Strawbridge,  Philip  Embury, 
and  Captain  Webb,  about  the  year  1763,  as  a  self- 
propagating  agency,  it  knew  no  law  but  the  Spirit 
and  grace  its  devotees  had  received  from  on  high. 
In  1769,  in  response  to  earnest  and  repeated  calls, 
Mr.  Wesley  took  the  infant  societies  which  had 
been  spontaneously  organized  under  his  supervis- 
ion, and  sent  missionaries  to  this  country  to  push 
forward  the  work.  After  seven  years,  as  the  Rev- 
olutionary War  had  broken  out,  Assistant  Rankin 
and  most  of  the  missionaries  returned  to  England, 
and  Methodism  was  left  once  more  to  take  care  of 
itself.  Asbury,  by  general  consent,  assumed 
charge ;  but  as  a  matter  of  prudence,  he  being 
an  Englishman,  the  field-work  was  left  mostly  in 
the  hands  of  Garrettson,  Gatch,  Owen,  Ware,  and 
other  natives  of  this  country. 

In  1784,  the  war  having  resulted  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  independence  of  America,  in  an 
advisory  letter,  and  by  the  ordination  and  appoint- 
ment of  Dr.  Thomas  Coke  as  an  episcopos,  Wes- 

167 


1 68          OUR  CO UNTR Y  AND  METHODISM. 

ley  initiated  the  organization  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  This  simple  but  great  work 
was  consummated  at  what  is  known  as  the  Christ- 
mas Conference.  The  number  of  communicants 
in  the  new-born  Church  was  14,870,  and  the 
preachers  numbered  83,  nearly  all  of  whom  were 
natives  of  the  soil. 

Since  that  date,  a  little  more  than  one  hun- 
dred years,  "  what  hath  God  wrought?"  The  or- 
ganization of  the  Church  led  and  prepared  the 
way  for  the  organization  of  the  Nation  by  its  ex- 
ample, and  by  the  labor  of  some  years.  If,  as 
we  allege,  it  was  the  purpose  of  Providence  that 
Methodism  should  be  to  this  Republic  "  as  new 
wine  to  a  new  bottle,"  the  proof  of  the  great  fact 
ought  to  stand  forth  conspicuously  in  the  syn- 
chronal  and  interwoven  development  of  Church 
and  State.  A  hundred  years  is  but  a  short  period 
in  the  life  of  a  nation  or  the  growth  of  a  Church, 
yet,  in  this  case,  we  are  willing  to  commit  our 
argument  to  the  data  they  afford. 

The  Nation  has  now  a  population  of  sixty-five 
millions;  but  of  this  number  less  than  a  half 
million  are  Episcopalians,  and  the  showing  of  the 
Congregationalists  is  but  a  trifle  better,  though 
both  denominations  have  largely  recruited  their 
ranks  from  Methodist  revivals  and  by  the  acces- 
sion of  emigrants  from  the  Old  World.  The  Bap- 
tists have  been  more  spiritual,  more  zealous,  more 
evangelical,  and  far  more  successful.  The  Pres- 
byterians, greatly  strengthened  by  additions  from 


A  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  METHODISM.      169 

abroad,  as  well  as  by  their  own  zeal,  have  moved 
rapidly  forward,  and  become  a  powerful  Church. 
True  to  its  mission,  and  self-reliant,  Methodism, 
in  the  name  of  Christ,  has  gone  among  the  people — 
gone  into  the  highways  and  byways,  captured  the 
camps  and  broken  the  lines  of  the  wicked  in  thou- 
sands of  instances,  stormed  their  strongholds, 
raised  up  from  among  its  converts  a  mighty  min- 
istry, and  built  its  spiritual  temples  almost  exclu- 
sively of  new-born  souls.  Its  network  of  Confer- 
ences, districts,  circuits,  and  stations  cover  the 
Nation  from  Florida  to  Texas,  and  from  Maine  to 
the  Pacific  coast.  Nor  less  successful  has  Meth- 
odism been  in  the  Canadas  and  Nova  Scotia. 

But  what  has  Methodism  done  through  evan- 
gelistic work — work  that  has  staying  qualities, 
and  that  will  endure  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion? Does  Methodism  promise  to  hold  the 
ground  it  now  occupies — that  is,  the  whole  Na- 
tion ?  It  is  not  an  aim  nor  a  wish  of  the  Church 
to  supplant  other  Churches,  but  rather  to  be  a 
blessing  to  them  in  the  future,  as  it  has  been  in 
the  past. 

As  one  of  the  most  solid  and  substantial  of 
the  religious  bodies  in  this  country,  we  will  select, 
as  a  standard  of  comparison,  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  place  by  the  side  of  its  development 
the  growth  of  Methodism  on  the  same  territory. 
The  strength  of  Churches  is  not  to  be  sought  for 
alone  in  numbers,  but  in  all  the  elements  of  power, 
of  aggressive  work,  and  of  stability,  which  go  to 

15 


170 


OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 


make  its  presence  felt  in  all  the  interests  and  in 
all  parts  of  a  great  and  growing  nation.  In  our 
review  it  would  be  proper  to  include  in  the  Meth- 
odist column  the  Methodists  of  Canada,  as  the 
Church  across  the  line  was  founded  and  cared  for 
till  1835  by  ministers  from  this  country;  but  we 
will  dispense  with  them.  Let  us  now  attend  to 
the  figures.  All  kinds  of  Presbyterians  and  Meth- 
odists are  included : 

Presbyterian  Church  founded  in  Maryland,  .   .   .    1692 

Wesley  born  eleven  years  later,  or, 1703 

Presbyterian  Church — 2  Synods,  10  Presbyteries, 

and  104  ministers  in 1773 

Methodist    Church — 10    ministers,    1,060    mem- 
bers in 1773 


Denomination. 

Date. 

Churches. 

Ministers. 

Members. 

Presbyterian,     .   . 

1850 
1850 

5,320 
14,861 

4,264 
7,  1  SO 

487,691 

\.\2^&\\ 

Presbyterian,     .    . 

1886 
1886 

15,002 
4O.12I 

11,241 
27.S22 

1,431,247 

4,  6^7.416 

The  quadrennial  sales  of  Methodist  books  by 
the  Methodist  Church  alone  since  1848  are  as  fol- 
lows: 1848,  $612,635.69;  1852,1854,020.31;  1856, 
$1,877,948.56;  1860,  2,303,718.29;  1864, '$2,795,- 
567.54;  1868  $4,934,708.20;  1872,  $5,228,517.58; 
1876,6,045,709.24;  1880,  $6,090,142.57;  1884,  $6,- 
455,487.28;  1888,  $7,344,390.52;  total,  $44,542,- 
845.78.  The  periodical  literature  of  the  Church 
has  been  correspondingly  great. 


Denomination. 

Period'c's 

Circulation. 

Total  Receipts 

Presbyterian  (B'd  of  Pub.), 
Meth.  Epis.  (Book  Concern) 

46 

77 

204,536 
591,605 

*7."l>579 
48,697,842 

A  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  METHODISM.      171 


In  1884  the  educational  institutions  of  the 
two  Churches  were  represented  by  the  following 
figures : 


Denomination. 

Colleges. 

Professors. 

Students. 

Endowment. 

Presbyterian,  .   .   . 

46 
6l 

390 

538 

4,060 
4,O^8 

Not  given. 
$11,079,682 

The  value  of  churches  and  parsonages  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  $104,172,793.  Of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  we  have  no  statistics 
showing  the  amounts.  Were  other  Methodisms 
added  to  the  figures  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  they  would  be  nearly  doubled. 

It  would  seem  from  the  above  that  Methodism 
has  not  been  altogether  absorbed  in  multiplying 
its  numbers. 

That  the  force  of  these  facts  may  be  fully 
understood,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind — (i)  that  the 
Presbyterian  Church  had  the  start  of  Methodism 
by  seventy- three  years ;  (2)  that  the  Presbyterian 
Church  has  been  strengthened  by  a  steady  stream 
of  accessions  from  abroad;  (3)  that  the  Presby- 
terian Church  has  received  large  accessions  as  the 
fruits  of  Methodist  revivals ;  *  (4)  and  that,  in  the 


*The  Methodist  Church  converts  for  all  the  Churches; 
for,  of  the  products  of  an  ordinary  revival,  some  go  to  the 
Presbyterians,  some  to  the  Baptists,  and  some  to  the  Episco- 
palians and  other  Churches.  .  .  .  But,  notwithstanding  it 
supplies  all  other  Churches,  it  still  keeps  itself  larger  than 
any  of  the  rest,  and  increases  at  a  faster  rate. — The  Christian 
Quarterly,  quoted  by  Whedoii. 


172  OUR  CO UNTR Y  AND  ME THODISM. 

short  period  of  a  little  more  than  one  hundred 
years,  Methodism  has  numerically,  and  in  all 
the  substantial  elements  of  strength,  not  only  over- 
taken, but  left  the  Presbyterians  behind  by  up- 
wards of  3,700,000  souls. 

The  above  facts,  we  think,  are  sufficient  to 
prove  that  the  growth  of  Methodism  has  been 
steady,  uniform,  and  substantial — such  as  is  likely 
to  endure.  We  may  add  that  the  annual  growth 
of  the  Nation  between  1790  and  1880  was  only 
32.40  per  cent,  while  the  growth  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  alone  was  61.62  per  cent — 
nearly  double  the  growth  of  the  population  of  the 
country. 

If  "history  is  philosophy  teaching  by  ex- 
ample," what  are  the  lessons  we  should  learn 
from  the  above  array  of  facts?  We  have  brought 
into  prominence  the  Presbyterian  Church,  not  for 
the  purpose  of  making  invidious  comparisons,  but 
because  this  is  a  great  and  growing  Church,  and 
we  desired  to  test  the  strength  of  Methodism  by 
a  very  high  standard.  We  have  assumed  for  it  a 
Scriptural  basis  and  a  high  calling.  Our  country, 
vast  as  it  is,  is  yet  in  its  infancy,  and  our  only 
hope  for  the  immense  future  that  is  before  us  is 
based  upon  the  intelligence,  conscience,  and  patri- 
otism of  the  people.  What  especially  concerns  us 
now  is,  the  part  Methodism  is  to  act  in  the  great 
drama  of  National  progress.  Is  the  Church  aware 
of  the  ground  she  occupies  to-day,  and  is  she 
girding  herself  for  the  conflicts  at  her  door,  and 


A  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  METHODISM.      173 

for  the  still  greater  ones  that  are  to  come?  Her 
allies  in  the  field — especially  the  Presbyterian  and 
Baptist  Churches — she  can  not  wish  too  great 
success.  But  her  own  responsibilities  can  not  be 
shifted  or  evaded.  Her  high  mission  is  to  pre- 
serve the  Nation  and  be  preserved  by  it.  The 
infusion  of  the  foreign  element  in  her  structure 
has  been  so  slight  and  gradual  that  it  has  be- 
come thoroughly  assimilated,  and  hence  Method- 
ism is  in  all  respects  intensely  American. 

Because  in  the  beginning  of  Methodist  history 
men  were  called  from  the  plow  and  the  work- 
shop to  the  ministry,  attempts  were  formerly 
made  to  discredit  them  and  their  services  on  the 
ground  of  illiteracy.  It  was  not  thought  possible 
that  such  men  could  be  intrusted  with  the  re- 
sponsible work  of  preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
But  the  facts  discredit  the  theory.  Methodism 
has  given  to  the  pulpit  as  mighty  men — as  effect- 
ive to  move  and  benefit  the  people — as  America 
or  any  other  country  ever  witnessed.  Shinn, 
Axley,  Stockton,  Summerfield,  Mafritt,  Bascom, 
Durbin,  and  Simpson,  are  names  that  can  not  die. 
Bigelow,  Sale,  Cook,  Poythress,  Jacob  Young, 
James  Russell,  Samuel  Parker,  John  Strange, 
James  Quinn,  Jacob  Gruber,  James  B.  Finley, 
form  a  great  company,  no  whit  their  inferior. 
But  when  the  birthplace  and  early  history  of 
Methodism  is  considered,  we  clearly  see  that  the 
denomination  could  not  be  otherwise  than  literary 
in  its  tendencies.  Born  in  Oxford  University, 


174  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

during  the  first  fifty  years  of  its  history  it  gave  to 
the  world  some  scholarly  commentators  on  the 
Bible,  such  as  John  Wesley,  Thomas  Coke,  Adam 
Clarke,  Joseph  Benson,  and  Richard  Watson.  As 
a  profound  theologian,  of  great  breadth  and  clear- 
ness, it  is  doubtful  if  Richard  Watson  has  ever 
been  surpassed.  At  a  later  day,  Pope  follows 
Watson,  and  gives  theology  a  new  setting,  sur- 
rounded by  the  added  erudition  of  half  a  century. 
In  this  country,  the  Encyclopaedia  of  McClintock 
and  Strong,  the  Commentaries  of  Whedon,  the 
Histories  of  Stevens,  the  Lectures  and  Monographs 
of  Curry,  and  Raymond's  and  Harman's  works  on 
Theology,  various  philosophical  and  metaphysical 
productions,  the  Methodist  Revieiv — never  more 
ably  managed  than  by  Dr.  Mendenhall,  its  present 
editor — and  the  weekly  press,  place  the  Church 
abreast  of  the  literary  progress  of  the  Nation. 

In  its  onward  strides,  Methodism  has  gathered 
around  itself,  as  supports,  whatever  was  essential 
to  its  stability  and  continued  usefulness  in  the 
world.  As  a  part  of  the  great  Republic,  and  the 
most  stirring  element  of  American  life,  it  is  in 
the  lead  of  every  enterprise  which  tends  to  the 
glory  of  the  Nation  and  the  good  of  humanity. 
It  has  become  as  conspicuous  in  high  places  as  it 
was  at  the  beginning  effective  along  the  border. 

The  changes  which  the  external  economy  of 
Methodism  has  experienced  have  not  touched  its 
essence,  but  they  have  been  the  inevitable  results 
of  the  development  of  its  power  in  a  great  and 


A  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  METHODISM.      175 

growing  country.  To  remain  stationary  was  to 
loose  its  hold  upon  the  people,  and  fail.  Every 
success,  on  any  circuit  or  station,  carried  with  it  a 
change  in  society  for  the  better.  Many  a  primi- 
tive four-weeks'  circuit  has,  at  the  present  time,  a 
flourishing  population  of  thousands,  dwelling  in 
comfortable  houses;  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
churches;  perhaps  an  academy;  and  the  past 
aspects  of  the  country  have  wholly  disappeared  in 
these  improvements.  If  Methodism  is  all  we 
have  claimed  for  it,  it  necessarily  adapts  its 
agencies  to  the  best  good  of  every  form  of  so- 
ciety. If  it  has  gone  down  into  the  gutter  and 
lifted  up  the  fallen,  it  has  also  adorned  the  White 
House,  the  Senate,  the  Supreme  Court,  and  during 
half  the  Nation's  history,  it  has  furnished  chap- 
lains for  Congress. 

The  growth  of  Methodism  can  not  be  appre- 
ciated unless  we  take  into  account  its  Sunday- 
schools.  Canada  included,  its  pupils,  officers,  and 
teachers  make  the  grand  total  of  5,000,000  of 
souls.  Historically  considered,  Methodism  is 
closely  identified  with  this  arm  of  Church  service. 
In  the  year  1769,  a  young  Methodist — Hannah 
Ball — established  a  Sunday-school  in  Wycombe, 
England;  and  in  1781,  while  another  young  Meth- 
odist woman  was  conversing  at  Gloucester  with 
Robert  Raikes,  the  publisher  of  a  newspaper,  he 
pointed  to  a  group  of  neglected  children  in  the 
street,  and  asked:  "What  can  be  done  for  them?" 
She  answered:  "L,et  us  teach  them  to  read,  and 


1 76          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

take  them  to  Church."  Raikes  closed  in  with  the 
suggestion,  and  they  went  to  work.  Wesley,  with 
his  practical  zeal,  took  the  work  in  hand ;  and  in 
1786,  Bishop  Asbury  established  the  first  Sunday- 
school  that  was  ever  organized  in  America.  The 
Methodist  Sunday-school  Union  was  organized  in 
1827,  and  at  its  first  annual  meeting  in  New  York 
there  were  reported  251  auxiliaries,  1,025  schools, 
2,048  superintendents,  10,290  teachers,  and  63,240 
scholars.  The  thorough  system  of  Sunday-school 
instruction  now  in  vogue  is  the  gift  of  Methodism 
to  sister  Churches.  The  Sunday-school  literature 
of  Methodism,  in  quantity  and  quality,  ranks  first 
in  the  world,  and  it  is  largely  patronized  by  other 
denominations. 

It  was  largely  the  magnitude  of  this  work  that 
made  it  necessary  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  to  sell  its  property  on  Broadway,  New 
York,  and  put  up  another  building,  costing  up- 
wards of  one  million  of  dollars,  on  Fifth  Avenue, 
corner  of  Twentieth  Street — the  finest  and  most 
costly  religious  publishing-house  in  the  world. 
Besides  books  of  the  General  Catalogue  and  Sun- 
day-school books,  the  house  prints  for  home  and 
foreign  fields,  in  a  single  year,  5,312,544  pages  of 
tracts,  and  1,225,000  pages  in  the  German  lan- 
guage. The  Sunday-school  literature  for  1887 
amounted  to  307,018,069  pages. 

What  Methodism  has  done  within  a  little  more 
than  one  hundred  years  of  its  existence,  can  not 
be  understood  unless  we  take  into  the  account  its 


A  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  METHODISM.      177 

missionary  operations.  The  summary  at  the  close 
of  this  chapter  shows  its  operations  in  foreign 
fields  during  the  past  sixty-eight  years: 

But  whilst  the  Church  has  been  engaged  in 
building  academies,  colleges  and  universities, 
churches  and  parsonages,  publishing-houses  and 
hospitals,  and  flooding  the  Church  with  books, 
magazines,  and  periodicals,  establishing  Sunday- 
schools  and  gathering  the  children  in,  and  push- 
ing out  its  missionaries  into  all  surrounding 
nations — spending  millions  upon  millions  of 
money — the  simple,  basal  idea  of  Methodism  has 
not  been  forgotten.  Its  mission,  as  much  as  ever, 
is  to  seek  and  save  the  lost.  The  gospel,  as  glad 
tidings  to  penitent  souls,  is  still  the  central  idea 
of  its  preaching.  Revivals  are  regarded  as  the 
most  cheering  events  which  can  take  place  in  the 
Church.  There  is  still  more  joy  over  the  repent- 
ance of  one  sinner  than  over  ninety  and  nine 
righteous  persons  who  need  no  repentance. 

The  pioneering  spirit  still  exists  in  the  Church,  in 
the  mountainous  West,  in  all  its  primitive  freshness 
and  vigor.  Before  Kansas,  Nebraska,  the  Dakotas, 
Montana,  Colorado,  Nevada,  Oregon,  Washington, 
Idaho,  and  Wyoming  were  admitted  as  States  in 
the  Union,  Methodist  Conferences,  missions,  dis- 
tricts, circuits,  and  stations  had  touched  every 
square  mile  where  human  beings  could  be  found. 
It  requires  heroic  work  to  make  heroic  men,  and 
in  this  respect  the  mountains  and  the  mining- 
camps  of  the  West  have  fulfilled  their  mission. 


I78 


OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 


The  battles  fought  with  the  Mormons  and  the 
deserts  of  Utah  have  tried  the  souls  of  men,  and 
the  conflict  has  been  crowned  with  victory.  Pio- 
neering is  now  as  faithfully  done  in  far-away 
Oregon  and  Washington,  as  ever  it  was  in  Ken- 
tucky and  Ohio. 

In  view  of  the  above  array  of  facts,  covering 
our  own  country  and  touching  nearly  every 
nation  under  heaven,  involving  the  expenditure  of 
large  sums  of  money,  and  conserving  every  hu- 
man interest  for  time  and  eternity,  what  shall  we 
say?  Is  not  Methodism  to  this  country  as  the 
"new  wine  to  the  new  bottle?" 

The  growth  of  Methodism,  as  compared  with 
other  denominations,  may  be  seen  from  the  fol- 
lowing statistical  review  of  the  Churches  of  the 
United  States,  prepared  by  the  New  York  Inde- 
pendent^ and  published  July  31,  1890: 

GENERAL,  SUMMARY  BY  FAMILIES. 


1889. 

1890. 

Chur. 

Miu's. 

Com. 

Chur. 

Min's. 

Com. 

Adventists  

1-575 
46  624 

840 

32,017 

100,712 
4  078  588 

1,773 

765 

58,742 

Christian  Union,  . 
Congregationalists 

1.500 

4>569 
76-1 

500 
4,408 

120,000 
475,608 

1,50° 
4,689 

76  * 

500 
4,640 

1  2O  OOO 
491.985 

German  Evan.  Ch  , 
Lutherans.   .  .  . 
Mennonites,    .  . 
Methodists,  .  .  . 

<675 
6,971 
420 
50,680 
98 

560 
4,151 
605 
29,770 
HI 

125,000 
988,008 
100,000 
4,723  881 
11,219 

850 
7,9" 
563 
54-7" 

IOI 

665 
4,612 
665 
31,765 
114 

160,000 
1,086,048 
102,671 
4,980,240 
11,358 

New  Jerusalem, 
Presbyterians,  . 
Episcopalians, 
Reformed,      .   . 
Roman  Catholics, 

100 

13,349 
5.159 
2,058 
7,424 

"3 
9,786 
4,012 

1-378 
7,996 

6,000 
1,180.113 
459.642 
277-542 
7,855,294 

100 

13,619 
5,227 

2,081 

7,523 

360 

"3 
9,974 
4,100 

1,379 
8,332 
1,024 

6,000 
1,229.012 
480,000 
282  856 
8,277,030 

8  771 

Unitarians,  .  . 
Universalists,  . 

38i 

721 

491 
691 

20,000 
38,780 

407 

732 

5io 
685 

20,000 
42.952 

Grand  total,     .  . 

142767 

98,436 

20,667,318 

151,26! 

103,303 

21,757,171 

A  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  METHODISM.      179 

In  this  table  the  number  of  Roman  Catholic  communi- 
cants is  estimated  on  the  basis  of  8,277,039  Catholic  popula- 
tion, using  the  ratio  which  Lutheran  statistics  have  established 
between  souls  and  communicants  in  the  Synodical  Conference ; 
viz.,  1.77.  According  to  this  table,  the  standing,  according  to 
numbers  by  families,  would  be  respectively :  Methodists,  Ro- 
man Catholics,  Baptists,  Presbyterians,  Lutherans,  Congre- 
gationalists,  Episcopalians.  Following  are  the  returns  by 
families : 

METHODISTS. 

Churches.  Min.  Commun. 

Methodist  Episcopal, 22,103  13,279  2,236,463 

Methodist  Episcopal,  South,    .   .    11,767  4,862  1,161,666 

African  Methodist  Episcopal,  .    .      3,800  3,000  400,000 

African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion,     3,500  3,000  412,513 

United  Brethren,      4,265  i,455  I99.7°9 

Colored  Methodist  Episcopal,  .    .      2,100  1,800  170,000 

Methodist  Protestant 2,003  1,441  147,604 

Evangelical  Association,    ....      1,958  1,187  145,703 

United  Brethren  (Old  Confession)     1,381  623  50,582 

American  Wesleyans, 600  300  18,000 

Congregational  Methodists,  ...          50  100  4,000 

Free  Methodists, 952  513  19,998 

Independent  Methodists,  ....          35  30  5,000 

Primitive  Methodists 147  63  5,502 

Union  American  Methodist  Epis- 
copal (colored) 50  112  3,500 

Total 54,711     31,765    4,980,240 

ROMAN  CATHOUCS. 

Churches.    Priests.    Popula'n. 
Roman  Catholic, *7,523      8,332  t8,277,O39 

*  Not  including  3,303  chapels  and  stations. 

t  Sadlier's  Catholic  Directory ;  largely  conjectural. 


BAPTISTS. 

The  Baptists  have  many  divisions.  The  regular  Baptists 
practice  close  communion,  are  Calvinistic  in  doctrine,  and  Con- 
gregational in  Church  government.  The  Disciples  are  better 
known  as  Campellites.  The  Free  Baptists  are  Arminian  in 
doctrine.  The  Church  of  God  is  also  known  as  Winebrenna- 
rians.  The  Bunkers  are  German  Baptists. 


I8o 


OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 


Churches 

Regular  Baptists, 33,588 

Anti-mission, 1,800 

P'ree, 1,613 

Other  Free 650 

Disciples  of  Christ, 7,250 

Christians,  North, 1,831 


Christians,  South, 

Church  of  God 

Seventh-day  Baptists,  .    . 
Dunkers — Conservative, , 
Dunkers — Progressive, 
Dunkers— Old  Order, .    . 
Six- Principle, 


75 
525 
no 

5i3 

270 

130 

16 


Min. 

21,175 

900 

i,386 

600 

3,600 

1,417 

35 

49i 

113 

2,130 

250 

230 

16 


Commun. 

3,070,047 
45,000 
86,297 

34,144 
750,000 

129,353 

18,000 

33,000 

9,000 

102,000 
12,000 

2,000 

M50 


Total, 48,371    32,343    4,292,291 


PRESBYTERIANS. 

Churches.  Min.  Commun. 

Presbyterian,  Northern 6,727  5,936  753,749 

Presbyterian,  Southern 2,321  1,145  161,742 

Presbyterian,  Cumberland,    .    .    .      2,689  I,595  160,185 

Presbyterian,  Cumberl'd  (colored)       500  200  15,000 

Presbyterian,  United, 903  753  101,858 

Presbyterian,  Ref.  (Synod),  .   .   .         124  124  10,817 

Welsh  Calvinistic, 186  99  10,652 

Asso.  Ref  Synod,  South 115  90  8,209 

Reformed  (General  Synod),  ...          54  32  6,800 

Total, 13,619  9.974  1,229,012 

LUTHERANS. 

Churches.  Min.  Commun. 

General  Synod 1,423  951  151,365 

United  Synod,  South 390  195  45,185 

General  Council 1,557  899  264,235 

Synodical  Conference, 1,811  1,291  365,620 

Independent  Synods  (fifteen),      .      2,730  1,276  269,743 

Total, 7,9H  4,612  1,086,048 

CONGREGATIONALISTS. 

Churches.  Min.  Commun. 

Congregationalists, 4,689  4,640  491,985 


A  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  METHODISM.      181 

EPISCOPALIANS. 

Churches.    Min.      Commun. 

Protestant  Episcopal, *5,n8      3,980       470,076 

Reformed  Episcopal, 109          120         10,100 


Total, 5,227  4,100  480,176 

*  Including  2,029  missions. 

Following  is  a  summary  of  the  minor  bodies,  with  histor- 
ical notes: 

ADVENTISTS. 

Churches.  Min.  Commun. 

Evangelical  Adventists, .....         100  50  5,000 

Advent  Christians, 600  400  15,000 . 

Seventh-day  Adventists,    ....         943  218  27,742 

Churches  of  God, 30  27  2,000 

Life  and  Advent  Union, .           .   .          50  30  5,000 

Age-to-Come  Adventists,   ....          50  40  4,000 


Total, 1,773         765          58,742 

The  Adventists  are  comprised  in  six  organizations.  The 
Evangelical  are  orthodox  in  regard  to  future  punishment ;  the 
Seventh-Day  observe  the  seventh  day  as  Sabbath ;  the  Advent 
Union  holds  to  the  non-resurrection  of  the  wicked  dead;  the 
Age-to-Come  believe  in  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  to  the  Holy 
Laud. 

REFORMED. 

Churches.    Miu.      Commun. 

Reformed  (German) i,535         813        194,044 

Reformed  (Dutch) 546         566         88,812 


Total, 2,081       1,379       282,856 

The  Dutch  Church  began  its  history  in  this  country  with 
the  Dutch  immigration,  early  in  the  seventeenth  century ;  the 
German  not  until  a  much  later  period.  There  is  only  a  shade 
of  difference  between  the  two  bodies  doctrinally. 

MORAVIANS. 

Churches.    Min.      Commun. 
Moravians, 101          114         11,358 

The  official  name  of  this  body  is  Unitas  Fratrum.  The 
Moravians  have  bishops,  whose  functions  are  spiritual,  not  ec- 
clesiastical. 


182 


OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 


MENNONITES. 


Churches.    Min.      Commun. 


Old  Mennonites, 

Amish  Mennonites 

Reformed  Mennonites 

New-School  Mennonites,  .    .    . 
Mennonite  Brethren  in  Christ, 


300 

150 
20 
60 
33 


350 

150 

40 

90 

35 


66,000 
22,500 

3,000 
10,000 

1,171 


Total 563         665       102,671 

Mennonites  baptize  "penitent  believers"  by  pouring  or 
sprinkling,  practice  close  communion,  observe  feet-washing, 
refuse  to  take  judicial  oaths,  are  non-resistants,  and  use  the 
ban  against  unworthy  members.  Their  bishops,  elders,  or 
ministers,  and  deacons  are  chosen  by  lot, 

SALVATION  ARMY. 

Halls.    Officers.      Soldiers. 
Salvation  Army, 360       1,024  8,771 

The  Salvation  Army  was  organized  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago,  in  England,  by  a  Wesleyan  minister  named  Booth. 
Its  object  is  to  reach  and  save  the  degraded  and  outcast  in 
the  large  cities  and  towns. 

CHRISTIAN  UNION. 

Churches.    Min.      Commun. 
Christian  Union  Churches,   .  .  .      1,500         500       120,000 

The  Christian  Union  Churches  arose  in  the  West.  They 
accept  the  Scriptures  as  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice, 
and  hold  baptism  by  immersion. 


Orthodox, 

Non-affiliating  Orthodox,  includ- 
•  ing  Phila  and  Wilburite  bodies, 
"Hicksite," 


FRIENDS. 

Churches.    Min. 
653       1,017 


100 


Total, 


753 


GERMAN  EVANGEUCAI,. 

German  Evangelical  Church,  . 


Churches.    Min. 
850         665 


Commun. 
71,930 

12,000 
23,000 

106,930 


Commun. 
160,000 


A  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  METHODISM.      183 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Churches.  Mill.  Cornmun. 

Universalists, 732  685  42,952 

New  Jerusalem, loo  113  6,000 

Unitarians 407  510  *2O,ooo 


Total 1,239      1,308         68,952 

*  Estimated. 


No.  of  other  Day- 
scholars,  .... 

c*  O  co  »o                   .        •**•  ON  O  t^  ox       N  cv* 
'  m  «o  CT>  o    rf-00  t^  ro  r^      o  '0  ' 

Si? 
52 

~  iu  a  en 
f.'S  "'-3 

.ytl-     M 

NOTE.  —  By  foreign  missionaries  is  meant  American  missionaries  sent  out  from  the  United  States  ;  by  assistant  missionar 
meant  the  wives  of  foreign  missionaries.  The  wives  of  native  preachers  are  not  here  reported.  In  schools,  pupils,  all  prope 
and  the  value  thereof,  and  collections,  are  included  those  also  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  "  Other  helpers  ' 
braces  Bible-readers,  colporteurs,  chapel-keepers,  and  wives  of  natives  specifically  employed.  By  adherents  is  meant  the  Chri 
community  belonging  to  us  in  addition  to  the  members  and  probationers. 

No.  of  other  Day- 
schools  

.  s  r^so  oo    \r,  r^oo  o  *t  .  o  oo    . 

T?M    '                .    "    "      . 

^^ 

VO   *O 

.    .  HI  in  co  .                .    .  >o  TJ-  in  in  .  o  as  co 

N    HI    M                                                  OMO  HI    T)-          Q    HI  \O 

O  OS 

$$ 

M 

N  HI 

No.  of  Teachers 

.    .  HI  N  t»  .                ,    .  Q  tococ»  .00  ow 

HI                                            '      '00    HI    HI                   N 

&§ 

No.  of  High 
Schools,    .... 

.     .«•*«     O   N  N   N     .   l/i  CO  HI 

N  r^ 

COM 

No.  of  Students  . 

.    O   HI   CO  O     .   IO    .            .     .   f^    .     .  *O          ON  -^    . 
•    HI    W    M    «      •    M      •               '•   W    •••«.*» 

ior^ 

£r"S 

No.  of  Teachers 

.    HI    CO     .    CO    .    «      .      .      .      .NO      .      .**•.•**••-•      . 

•*co 
M   N 

No.  of  Theologi- 
cal Schools,   .  . 

.MM.VO.M....M..HI.WHI. 

1000 

Children  Bap- 

00   •**-•*!-  M   C7\        COOO  SO   in  ON  r^.OO  \T>   rj-  CS   ^   •* 
HI   O   O\  HI   N     •    co  to  COSO   IOOO    ins5         N   CO  •* 
HI    COm                    .    N    HI    CON            IO                                 "HI. 

Os^O 
frN 

coco 

Adults  Baptized,  . 

IO       OO  t^  CO                                      Tf  N  SO               "<t-SO 

N      «      *-<.....  .<x>           ..*o 

5oo 
^1 

Conversions  dur- 
ing Year,    .  .  . 

.     ,OOO\.     .'*****&         t^QVO   I^VC  tO  N  00   --S- 

Ofo          ow*5     cooN^j-o»-i\oc^t^ 
,.vOM..ci*Qoio.i^-r^      «          M 

W 

rON 
N    <O 
d>O 
IOCO 

Average  Attend- 
ance on  Sunday 
Worship,  .... 

mo\ioN      Q'OOOO  <^oo  vo  o  10  >-«  o 

1/3VO   IOO        NO-^-^TtomuOlO  rovfi   (sj  oo   •*    * 

.  to  in  t^vo    .  "*t  CJ\  cr;^  moo  c^oo  N  >H  ^-oo    . 

f-<£cO              BfOrC»-"VO*  covo"  nT  CO       H?       *4 

C-SO 
t^i^ 

N   CO 

cxfoo" 
c^S 

O«iot^.O\roi«QOi-.NHit-.o        H«O 

»o  ro  •*  t^      *-.  o*  10^0  N-^-a\ONOt^      MIO 
.•fl-iiO         .r^rOrtS'^-r'ONiHO    .ID"-! 

01   t^ 
•*IO 
t^lO 

t^WM              OOTft^CSHIVOHlN         M         •^• 

Oso 
IOCO 

Probationers,  .  . 

r^  •*  a\  r^  o  M  f^vo  r^-no-'i-MOiDn-'j-o^ 

OONNOrO"-«*OQ\ro>Hta«c3^-i-<i-i*ONTr 
fO  t^  C^  N  Ol        t-^  ^  OJ'O  CO  O  HI  SO        Ht  10  1^ 

M"         cf    to      m 

CO*O 

HI    sO 

ON 

\o  •£ 

Members,  .... 

HI  Tj-i-.VOr^»H  o  Nvo   COOD  O\  uo  ot  O\00  t^  O\    ' 
IO  1O  <S_  N  <n        H^  to  CS_00_  !-<_  HI^  ID  t->       00   O\  5\ 

N"     cT             rC  10  c-T  co  ~  co                 nT 

%~ 

a 

Local  Preachers, 
other  helpers,  etc 

ION        HI          '10       JJM'HOO"COHIM'«W 

ufj  JO 

^ 

Foreign  Teach'rs. 

.co.   ,r-»  vo   .OOCO.MWCO 

•"J-CO 

Native  Teachers,  . 

.00   M   ION     .                 .     -VOVO   OVO  r»w   ION   *  1     T*O\ 

•IOTI-NM  -*coco      »r  s    i  y  s 

•o                                 1  do  r^« 

Native  unorda'n'd 
Preachers,  .  .  . 

.t^ocOM      Moooooosovor^ojio  1000  oo 

tOSO           HI           «          VD                   HI    HI    N                   CO  N      * 

RH? 
•^•'T 

Native  Ordained 
Preachers,  .  .  . 

•         CO                •   IOPOO   N         •*"     •  *^8  HI   2     • 

^^ 

COCO 

Native  workers  of 
W.  F.  M.  S.,    .  . 

.  NOO  N  CO    .  Ct     .    .     .     .  COOO  •*  IO\O  O  if    . 
CO                                                    O                    HI  «  N 
•                       •         •    •    •    •  *^ 

t^vo 
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For.  Missionaries 
W.  F.  M.  S.,  .   . 

.N^t-^-^-W     .     .     ,     .     .lOCOCINHI   COOO   N 

N  r^ 

SO  IO 

Assistant  Miss- 
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.to^HtoN    .            ,    .Hir^r^itNioc\co 

HI    HI                                                         CO  HI    HI                      HI 

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Foreign  Mission- 
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.   1/5  1/5  HI   O   «O    .            .     .HIIOOHTJ-NIOON^J- 
HI  HI                                       W   N  M               HI 

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Pages  Printed 
during  the  year. 

§ft<g  •  -|»  •§  • 

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2S    «  .  .         .«  .. 

8-ft 

Volumes  Printed 

8;g8§  '  'II  '«§  ' 

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during  the  year. 

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Col'ected  for  other 
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pairing,   .       .  . 

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t^.  oS 

support,   .... 

«*                             •  w   N         '                        M                     M     • 

|s; 

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Benev.  Societies. 

^S10:  :P|H^:*S  ;s»: 

M 

Collected  for  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

,\OCO   tOCJ   iOW   O   C^  r^CQ   to    .NOX'^'O^' 

.VOM      uo     wioooi>.io,          M      ^^ 

o'oi 

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<N                 -^         ITSS.  yZ    ON         CT\C7\OcOO          !**• 

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^£                   o\cf^w       rCiovo"      to 

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Value  of  Orphan- 

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«  o 
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Hbspitals,-  Book 
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:^:R!?::::s?^:rf*:tfS* 

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Estimated    Value 
of  Parsonages  or 
"Homes,"  .  .  . 

^|!|||p!||f|||||! 

$488,274 
431,913 

No.  of  Parsonages 
or  "  Homes,"  .  . 

CIMM*-^-                   "CO                       JMM^ 

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No.  of  Halls  and 
other   Places   of 
Worship,  .... 

"tOWMM      'rOOVtOMt-»0»                           M    T}-  C4 

•                    .  w 

vz 

Estimated    Value 
of  Churches  and 
Chapels,   .... 

lOO'OOO     .MMCO   ^-OO   C4   O  00  r^  O   *H   M 

$1,682,224 
1,320,536 

No.    of  Churches 
and  Chapels,  .   . 

fO  "^"R  ^  ^    '  \O*  C^OO*  to  ^VO^'S  "2  M  *°  ^  'S     • 

$& 

No.  of  Orphans,  . 

"M               *       "           *     *     *     *   o\        i/5    *     *     "   IO    " 

o  o\ 

S'S. 

No.  of  Sabbath 

CO  t^-GO   iO  ^J-    .  VO   CM   cOOO   •-<   C7\O^t>•w   COCOW 

ss 

eg5?: 

No.  of  Sabbath- 
schools,     .... 

CO  CO  O  »-4          *  IOOO  O  IO  W  O\  CO  CO       M  l^.  CO 

M                      .    «    M    €»                   *O 

r>.  in 

*  if  "  3  s?  «  *.j  *  *  *  «  of  

3  c 

% 

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CO 

co 

3 

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C_i 
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I-  C3 
OH* 

16 


185 


Number  of  Day 

CIO   ro 

row 

Number  of  Day 
Schools,    .  .   . 

23  '' 

SS1 

Children     Bap- 

^(.lOOCOlO^     •     'OONOCM- 

W   IO 

tfl 

M                   ONCO_                            *       '                    MO 

Adults  Bap- 

^*    .      _  CO    W          COMIO."         W         CO 
Cn 

<*_«o 

M 

Conversions 
during  year,  . 

}OM 

Aver'ge  Att'nd- 
ance   on    Sun- 
day   Worship, 

IO  ^ 

s  ; 

Probationers,  . 

to        *o  10              .          ^  *-•      >-• 
IOM*                                           \o* 

Members,  .  .  . 

5-^              » 

00  M 

$€ 

I<ocal     Preach- 

•^-           r^*o                                             10 

IS 

' 

« 

Other  Teach'rs, 

•8)8 

Native    Teach- 
ers   

Native  Unor- 
dai'nd  Preach- 
ers,   

M    Cl 

Native  Or- 
dai'nd  Preach- 

M   O\ 

Native  Work'rs 
ofW.  H.  M.S., 

:* 

Missionaries  of 
W.  H.  M.  S.,   . 

10  •   • 

10(0 

Asst.    Mission- 

^q] 

Missionaries,  . 

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10  CO              M                           «  «06 
«  11                                               ro 
pT 

$& 

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MISSIONS. 

o)           »-      0           kO 

"^  !  !  !  a*  !  ^  !  '  .•§  '.w  !  !  ^  "31 

§l|lli|l||^|H  &* 

186 


Pages  printed 
during  Year,  . 

§  • 

0     ... 

.  .  &  . 

ft. 

Collected  f  o  r 
other  Local 
purposes,  .  . 

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ro  to  r^oo  C»  to  l/l   *              Q  co  •-•  ^j-  m 
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**"         *f>d\                    M"     w"     \o~ 

«OM                     •      •      •                                  IT) 

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ga 
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Collected  f  o  r 

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u~>  O      00  ON  o  CH  oo  M      oo  w  r^^o  to 
TT  5       '-•  ^o  ro^o  mo    .  M  r^vo  r-.  to 

roio 
ro  t^ 

ing  and  Re- 
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r^.  r*«.  irjvo  *o  <N  ••*•  M  uo  "  t*-  r-.  f*  •—  d 

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other  Benevo- 
lent Societies, 

w   rO  ^t  ^00     .  VO   M  \O         O   rfCO  00   f*3 
t*>.M         -^-O        t^GO  CN     *  iOcOl>-r-vQ 

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CO                               •                         1-1 

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Collected  f  o  r 
Mission'ry  So- 

r-^.  M  oO  r^.\o  t^-c^o\      C*IOONIOO 
vo  c»  ^-  Tt-\o      cow       cofOO^raN^o 
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.  .  .A  .      .         .            .« 

Val.  Orph'n'ges 
Schools,  Hos- 
pitals, Book- 
rooms,  etc.,  . 

§  •  •  • 

§     ' 

1  •,?  • 

X  • 

Estimated  Val- 
ue Parsonages 
or"  Homes,"  . 

AO*     *WCO*     'lOr^'oQQOrO 
^    ,         Ox  *O             t>-  O         rO  ONVO  CO  f^» 

«  O\ 
VO  to 
1-1   o 

O    f    f  o  ^            f>\o    ^  ^-  M  uo  -^-  r-.. 
*7>  ^   ]  IOM   ]   ]  '                     '5 

£!? 

**M 

No.  Parsonages 
or"  Homes,"  . 

w     .     .t^M     .     ,\Or».fOrO  OOO  OO 

M          a^oo                           M          oo 
.   .  to      .   .           .                 i^ 

c?oo" 

tON_ 

Estimated  Val- 
ue of  Churches 
and  Chapels,  . 

§O  O  iD^O  QQQO         OQOOO 
O   0   1^00   QOOO         OOOO^J" 
cOOCOOiOOO'-'M     .lOtOiOfON 

0   CO 
5^% 

N   iO  ro  «"  fO  CO  OCG^O         •«*•  cT  IO  CT>  O 
IOW          CNCOMOtCON      •NCIOci^ 
V».              IO^*                            ^               i-t         CO 
cT                                                         ro 

rO  t^. 

S^ 
S." 

No.  of  Ch'rches 
and  Chapels,  . 

M   wwvo   M   tOMOOCMOiON   r^tOtN 
«               ^-00                                        M   d   i-"   O 

to 

!  i 

No.  of  Sabbath 
Scholars,  .  .  . 

IO  UO  lOOO   C7NCO   r-.  OOO        CO  CO   N  CO    Tt 
O\CO  r*  Tf-  •^-1O  rO  iOvO         f*  'O  t^-^O  ^ 

c^     wfoqNtow\oo    .^Oco  uo\o  a\ 

M                 O^CO    i-t                 M"                      M          fO 

^r                       •                  co 

250,304 

No.  of  Sabbath- 
schools,  .  .  . 

•*  M  04  Tt-  m  TT^O  c»  ^*  .  o  oo  ui'O  >n 

M             *OOOM         WN'MMMM^ 
CO 

r^ 

"8  : 

>o 

MISSIONS. 

U-. 

;  i  s*  i  .  1  1*  i  !  § 

«  2  .  .0 

!:::-:|:  :<?:!•  :!  : 

?  .  .  .£  .£,.  .2    «..-»<    "3  . 
5  •  -  -.2  .-2  -»-'E88  •  -S,  IS 

g  •  •  -Sgs  -.a^-s-a  •  •?  ^^ 

fc«i-l1s!2gIS:||  gi 

SliEliitSiHfft  53 

<)^n<Ot«p;(j««!«S^^o»w 

187 


"^fHE    Methodists  were   the  pioneers    of  religion.     The 

breath  of  liberty  has  wafted  their  message  to  the  masses 

of  the  people ;  encouraged  them  to   collect  white  and  black, 

in  church  or  greenwood,  for  council  in  divine  love  and  the 

full  assurance  of  faith,   and  carried  their  consolations   and 

songs  and  prayers  to  the  farthest  cabins  of  the  wilderness." 

1 88  — GEORGB  BANCROFT. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

METHODISM  AS    A    CONSERVATOR  OF  THE  MORAL 
FORCES  OF  THE  REPUBLIC 

AS  a  consequence  of  its  American  origin  and 
spirit,  Methodism  has  ever  enjoyed  a  free 
access  to  the  hearts  and  homes  of  the  people. 
Hundreds  of  thousands  of  sermons  have  been  de- 
livered in  the  private  dwellings  of  citizens;  and 
had  they  not  freely  extended  the  hospitalities  of 
their  tables  and  beds  to  the  preachers,  the  early 
itinerancy  would  have  been  an  impossibility. 
When  the  era  of  church  and  parsonage  building 
commenced,  application  was  made  to  the  people 
for  assistance,  and  as  a  result  of  the  responses 
made,  millions  of  dollars  of  their  money  now  go 
to  swell  the  aggregate  of  the  property  of  Meth- 
odism. Whilst,  therefore,  the  members  of  other 
Churches  have  very  properly  looked  to  their  pas- 
tors for  instruction  and  consolation  in  bereave- 
ment, such  generally,  as,  unfortunately,  were  not 
favored  with  a  Church  home,  have  sought  the 
services  of  the  Methodist  ministry  on  such  oc- 
casions. As  Methodism  is  from  the  people  and  by 
the  people,  it  exists  for  the  people. 

The  rise  and  progress  of  Methodism  has,  there- 
fore, given  it  a  position  most  favorable  for  con- 
serving the  morals  of  the  Nation.  This  fact  can 

189 


190  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

be  made  the  most  apparent  by  contrasting  its 
genius  and  operations  with  the  spirit  and  influ- 
ence of  the  Roman  hierarchy.  Popery  in  this 
country  is  a  foreign  power,  as  much  so  as  the 
French  Army  or  British  Navy.  It  was  brought 
here  by  emigrants  from  Spain,  France,  Italy,  Ger- 
many, Ireland,  and  other  nations.  Refusing  to 
cut  loose  from  foreign  countries  and  from  a  past 
and  obsolete  age,  its  priests  are  incapable  of 
grasping  the  present,  or  feeling  the  inspiration  of 
a  true  American  idea.  The  morals  of  the  coun- 
tries from  which  these  foreigners  came  are  not 
the  morals  of  the  United  States.  The  little  they 
see  of  Christ  they  see  in  the  pope,  and  the  only 
gospel  they  know  is  Romanism.  As  a  conse- 
quence, the  prevalence  of  that  body  in  a  com- 
munity has  no  salutary  effect  upon  either  its  in- 
telligence or  morals.  In  illustration  of  this  fact 
we  need  only  to  point  to  Mexico,  Central  and 
South  America,  Spain,  Ireland,  Italy,  the  great 
Catholic  cities  of  Europe,  and  especially  Rome, 
under  the  eye  of  the  Vatican.  Sunday  bull-fights 
in  Spain  enjoy  the  patronage  of  cardinals  and 
kings  alike.  Romanism,  as  transferred  to  this 
country,  is  exactly  what  it  was  in  the  Old  World. 
More  devout  cut-throats  never  lived  than  Cortez, 
Pizarro,  and  DeSoto,  the  hierarchy's  first  agents 
in  this  country.  Among  the  first  settlements  ef- 
fected in  the  present  territory  of  the  United  States 
by  popery  were  St.  Augustine,  New  Orleans, 
Natchez,  St.  Louis,  Detroit,  and  Mackinaw,  and 


A  CONSERVATOR  OF  MORAL  FORCES.      191 

what  were  the  morals  of  those  places  whilst  under 
the  sway  of  Romanism?  Let  the  Rev.  BHsha 
Bowman,  who  visited  New  Orleans  in  1805,  speak 
for  that  place:  "As  for  the  settlements  of  this 
country,  there  are  none  that  are  composed  of 
Americans.  From  Baton  Rouge,  the  Spanish 
Fort,  which  stands  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, down  two  hundred  miles,  it  is  settled  on 
each  side  by  French  and  Spaniards.  When  I 
reached  the  city  I  was  much  disappointed  in  find- 
ing but  few  American  people  there,  and  a  ma- 
jority of  that  few  may  be  truly  called  beasts  of 
men.  The  Lord's-day  is  the  day  of  general  rout 
in  the  city.  Public  balls  are  held,  traffic  of  every 
kind  is  carried  on,  public  sales,  wagons  running, 
and  drums  beating;  and  thus  is  spent  the  Sab- 
bath. I  reached  the  Opelousas  country,  and  the 
next  day  went  to  the  Catholic  Church.  I  was 
surprised  to  see  race-paths  at  the  church-door. 
Here  I  found  a  few  Americans,  who  were  swear- 
ing with  almost  every  breath ;  and  when  I  reproved 
them,  they  told  me  that  the  priest  swore  as  hard 
as  they  did.  They  said  he  would  play  cards  and 
dance  with  them  every  Sunday  evening  after  mass ; 
and  strange  to  say,  he  kept  race-horses,  and  prac- 
ticed every  other  abomination.'1'' 

French  Romanists  visited  Detroit  in  1610,  and 
built  a  fort  in  1701.  The  place  was  kept  exclu- 
sively under  Romish  influence  till  1801 — one 
hundred  years — when  it  was  visited  by  Protest- 
ants. In  its  moral  condition  at  that  time  may  be 


192  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

seen  the  state  our  whole  country  would  have  been 
in,  had  not  a  Heavenly  Providence  interfered  in 
our  behalf. 

"In  1801,  when  Rev.  Mr.  Badger,  a  Congrega- 
tional missionary,  reached  Detroit,  he  reported 
that  there  was  not  one  Christian  to  be  found  in 
all  that  region,  except  a  black  man,  who  appeared 
to  be  pious.  In  1804  it  was  spoken  of  as  a  most 
abandoned  place.  At  this  time  Dr.  Nathan  Bangs 
visited  it  as  a  Methodist  missionary,  and  a  Con- 
gregational minister  told  him  that  he  had  preached 
in  Detroit  until  none  but  a  few  children  would 
come  to  hear  him.  'If  you  can  succeed,'  he 
added — 'which  I  very  much  doubt — I  shall  re- 
joice.' He  did  not  succeed,  but  shook  off  the  dust 
of  his  feet  against  them,  and  took  his  departure." 
(Dorchester.) 

Probably  this  was  the  only  defeat  Bangs  ever 
suffered.  But  the  city  was  doomed,  for  in  less 
than  forty  days  after  Bangs  left,  it  was  carried 
away  heavenward  in  flame  and  smoke;  and  the 
wiping  out  was  so  complete  that  but  one  house 
was  left  standing.  The  new  city  was  built  largely 
under  Protestant  influences,  and  hence  it  has  ever 
been  an  honor  to  the  Nation. 

The  Sabbath  was  scarcely  known  in  all  the 
great  Northwest.  Mackinaw  was  thoroughly  de- 
livered over  to  the  devil.  Gillett  says:  "The  gen- 
eral aspect  of  manners  among  the  troops  gave  an 
idea  of  infernal  spirits,  rather  than  of  human  be- 
ings." "Of  the  five  hundred  inhabitants  of  Kas- 


A  CONSERVATOR  OF  MORAL  FORCES.      193 

kaskia,  Illinois,  one-half  were  French  Roman 
Catholics.  Among  the  other  half  were  six  pro- 
fessors of  religion — two  Presbyterians,  two  Meth- 
odists, one  Congregationalist,  and  one  Seceder. 
The  Sabbath  was  scarcely  recognized." 

St.  Louis,  in  1820,  was  a  thorough -going  papal 
town,  and  in  morals  it  was  clear  down  on  a  level 
with  Detroit  and  Mackinaw.  Romish  mum- 
meries, blatant  infidelity,  the  most  infernal  pro- 
fanity, drunkenness,  lewdness,  fighting,  dueling, 
Sabbath-breaking,  gambling,  etc.,  were  the  chief 
elements  of  society  in  that  place.  It  was  perhaps 
the  brave,  persistent,  and  successful  efforts  of 
Jesse  Walker  to  effect  a  reformation  that  saved 
the  place  from  the  doom  that  came  upon 
Detroit. 

Whoever  makes  the  Jesuit  missions  in  this 
country  a  study,  will  become  painfully  impressed 
with  the  fact  that  the  influence  of  the  priest  and 
the  savage  upon  each  other  was  often  mutual, 
and  that  the  priest  veered  quite  as  much  in  the 
direction  of  savagery  as  the  savage  did  in  the  di- 
rection of  Christianity.  The  priest  was  often 
deep  in  the  plot  his  people  formed  to  make  a 
foray  against  a  neighboring  tribe,  to  scalp,  kill, 
and  plunder;  and  no  one  manifested  more  joy  at 
its  successful  results  than  he.  If  the  Indians 
could  be  made  loyal  papists,  it  mattered  not  what 
else  they  were ;  and  Romanism  is  no  better  to-day 
than  it  was  three  centuries  ago.  Rev.  W.  H. 

Law,  in  the   Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate,  gives 

17 


194  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

the  following  as  the  results  of  his  experience 
among  the  Romish  missions  in  British  Co- 
lumbia: 

"  These  people  have  no  religion ;  they  are 
simply  baptized  heathen.  It  is  true  that  they 
have  a  Canadian  Jesuit  priest  with  them  from 
time  to  time,  and  have  been  under  priestly  in- 
struction for  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
yet  I  firmly  believe  that  it  would  have  been  better 
for  them  if  they  had  never  seen  the  face  of  such 
teachers.  They  are  drunk,  both  males  and  fe- 
males, nearly  one-third  of  their  time.  Many  of 
them  are  raising  families  without  any  regard  for 
the  married  relationship.  I  have  heard  of  wife- 
beating,  but  here  it  is  frequently  the  reverse,  for 
squaws  often  beat  their  so-called  husbands ;  for 
they  can 't  always  get  as  much  whisky  as  the  men, 
and  are,  therefore,  more  active.  I  do  not  know  of 
one  Indian  on  the  reservation  but  that  is  full  of 
profanity.  As  a  class,  they  are  lazy  and  dirty; 
and  yet  the  priest  considers  them  Christians,  and 
calls  them  his  children.  Some  of  them  may  be; 
but  I  am  afraid  they  are  not  the  'children  of 
light.'  I  have  never  yet  found  a  converted  person 
among  them.  How  unlike  these  are  truly  con- 
verted Indians  !  On  the  shore  of  Lake  Superior 
and  on  the  great  Manitoulin  Island,  I  have  met 
quite  a  number  who  are  new  creatures  in  Christ 
Jesus,  members  of  different  evangelical  Churches. 
And  what  a  contrast!" 

Can  we  avoid  the  conclusion  that  it  is,  in  part, 


A  CONSERVATOR  OF  MORAL  FORCES.      195 

the  mission  of  Methodism  in  America  to  save  the 
people  from  the  ignorance,  corruption,  and  degra- 
dation which  seem  to  be  inseparably  connected 
with  the  sway  of  the  papal  hierarchy?  Whether 
a  part  of  the  original  plan  or  not,  it  has  done  this 
work,  and  that,  too,  on  a  scale  so  immense  that 
the  papacy  itself  has  felt  the  reformatory  agency 
of  Methodism,  not  only  in  different  nations,  but 
in  the  Vatican  itself. 

The  fact  is,  the  morals  of  a  people  are  a  sec- 
ondary affair  with  Romanism.  In  taking  from 
men  liberty  of  conscience  it  takes  from  them 
moral  responsibility.  Allegiance  to  the  State  is, 
on  the  whole,  a  cumbrous  embarrassment,  as  it 
divides  the  mind;  and  loyalty  to  God  is  of  no 
consequence  unless  it  includes  the  pope  as  his 
vicegerent  on  earth.  Even  Columbus,  when  he 
set  out  on  his  voyage  of  discovery,  was  actuated 
by  a  fanatical,  superstitious  zeal  for  the  extension 
of  the  popish  realm.  France  was  largely  influ- 
enced by  the  same  motive  in  the  expenditure  of 
millions  of  dollars  in  planting  colonies  in  North 
America.  The  cry  of  Romanists  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  temporal  power  of  the  pope  really 
means  the  subjugation  of  all  civil  governments 
to  the  behests  of  the  Jesuits.  The  radical  and 
wide  difference  between  Romanism  and  Method- 
ism is  this:  the  one  aspires  for  self-aggrandizement 
by  means  of  wealth  and  political  power,  and  re- 
gards as  of  secondary  importance  the  intelligence 
and  morals  of  the  people ;  the  other  refuses  to 


1 96          O UR  CO UNTR  Y  AND  METHODISM. 

touch  directly  the  helm  of  State,  but  gives  to  the 
Government  that  protects  it  the  purest  loyalty, 
and  bends  all  its  energies  to  the  promotion  of  the 
spiritual  and  moral  elevation  of  the  people.  In 
their  undertakings  both  bodies  achieve  a  meas- 
ure of  success. 

The  substance  of  Methodist  preaching  in  this 
country  for  a  century  was,  "Repent;"  "  Bring  forth 
fruit  meet  for  repentance;"  "Break  off  your  sins  by 
righteousness,  and  your  iniquities  by  turning  to 
God;"  and  "Without  holiness  no  man  can  see 
the  Lord."  Against  infidelity  it  has  dealt  some 
of  the  heaviest  blows  that  evil  has  ever  received. 
Drunkenness,  profanity,  and  Sabbath-breaking  it 
has  ever  held  up  before  the  people  as  damnable 
sins.  We  have  but  an  imperfect  idea  of  the  prev- 
alence of  crime  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  which  for  a  long  time  continued  on  the 
border ;  but  the  bold  Methodist  preacher,  at  the 
risk  of  life,  exposed  the  iniquity  of  the  times,  and, 
in  language  as  terrible  as  eternity  could  furnish, 
denounced  the  transgressors.  This  was,  indeed, 
the  work  required  by  the  times.  Texas  has  ac- 
quired an  unenviable  fame  as  the  refuge  of  all 
sorts  of  criminals,  but  its  monopoly  in  this  respect 
is  unjust.  The  following,  taken  from  Peter  Cart- 
wright's  "Autobiography,"  might  be  duplicated  in 
many  places: 

"  Logan  County,  Ky.,  when  my  father  entered 
it,  was  called  'Rogues'  Harbor.'  Here  refugees, 
from  almost  all  parts  of  the  Union,  fled  to  escape 


A  CONSERVAl^OR  OF  MORAL  FORCES.      19? 

justice  or  punishment ;  for,  although  there  was 
law,  yet  it  could  not  be  executed,  and  it  was  a 
desperate  state  of  society.  Murderers,  horse- 
thieves,  highway  robbers,  and  counterfeiters  fled 
here  till  they  combined  and  actually  formed  the 
majority.  The  honest  and  civil  part  of  the  citi- 
zens would  prosecute  these  wretched  banditti,  but 
they  would  swear  each  other  clear ;  and  they  really 
put  all  law  at  defiance,  and  carried  on  such  des- 
perate violence  and  outrage  that  the  honest  part 
of  the  citizens  seemed  to  be  driven  to  the  ne- 
cessity of  uniting  and  combining  together,  and 
taking  the  law  into  their  own  hands  under  the 
name  of  Regulators.  This  was  a  desperate  state 
of  things.  Shortly  after  the  Regulators  had 
formed  themselves  into  a  society,  and  established 
their  code  of  laws,  on  a  court-day,  in  Russellville, 
the  two  bands  met  in  town.  Soon  a  quarrel  com- 
menced, and  a  general  battle  ensued  between  the 
rogues  and  the  Regulators.  They  fought  with 
guns,  pistols,  dirks,  knives,  and  clubs ;  and  some 
were  actually  killed  and  many  wounded.  The 
rogues  proved  victors,  kept  the  ground,  and  drove 
the  Regulators  out  of  town.  The  Regulators  ral- 
lied again,  hunted,  killed,  and  lynched  many  of 
the  rogues,  till  several  of  them  fled  and  left  for 
parts  unknown.  Many  lives  were  lost  on  both 
sides,  to  the  great  scandal  of  a  civilized  people. 
This  is  but  a  partial  view  of  frontier  life." 

What  would  Romanism,  with  its  genuflections 
and  mummeries,  candles  and  robes,  have  done  to 


198  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

reform  a  community  of  such  criminals?  The 
priests  would  probably  have  offered  them  absolu- 
tion, on  condition  that  they  would  accept  baptism 
and  give  in  their  adhesion  to  the  papacy ;  and, 
without  doubt,  fools  could  have  been  found  who 
would  have  accepted  the  offer,  and  then,  with  sup- 
posed divine  warrant,  continued  in  their  career  of 
crime. 

What  did  the  Methodist  ministry  actually  do? 
This  lion  of  profligacy  and  vice  was  bearded  in  his 
den.  This  class  of  criminals,  which  no  law  could 
reach,  it  made  an  object  of  special  regard.  With 
the  fire  of  an  Elijah,  it  went  among  them  crying, 
"Flee  from  the  wrath  to  come!"  "Ye  serpents, 
ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye  escape  the 
damnation  of  hell?"  John  Page,  Benjamin  North- 
cot,  Jacob  Linton,  and  a  squadron  of  others,  like 
John  in  the  wilderness,  made  the  backwoods 
all  along  the  border,  from  Central  New  York  to 
Georgia,  echo  with  these  notes  of  warning  to  the 
criminals  who  had  forgotten  God  and  their  eter- 
nity. As  a  gracious  result,  thousands  of  them 
were  reformed,  and  they  became  good  citizens. 
Even  the  ministry  was  recruited  with  noble 
preachers  from  this  class  of  men.  Camp-meet- 
ings were  blessed  to  the  conversion  of  a  multitude 
of  these  outlaws.  The  fact  is,  Methodism  was  the 
only  force  in  the  Nation  that  could  have  success- 
fully grappled  with  this  problem.  Its  ministers 
went  forth  to  conquer,  and  seldom  were  they  de- 
feated. Whenever  Peter  Cartwright,  or  Jesse 


A  CONSERVATOR  OF  MORAL  FORCES.      199 

Walker,  or  J.  B.  Finley  was  on  the  border,  there 
was  a  Napoleon  and  a  victory.  Raised  on  the 
soil,  educated  among  this  rude  people,  and  en- 
dowed with  an  astonishing  amount  of  good,  hard, 
common  sense,  they  knew  the  strength  and  weak- 
ness of  these  border  roughs,  and  could  sympathize 
with  them  and  control  them.  A  priest,  in  a  lawn 
robe,  and  gloved  in  kid,  they  would  have  laughed 
at  as  a  useless  curiosity. 

Were  I  conscious  that,  in  making  a  record  of 
these  facts  in  regard  to  Methodism  and  Roman- 
ism, I  was  in  the  least  influenced  by  vanity  on 
the  one  hand,  or  uncharitableness  on  the  other,  I 
would  on  the  instant  blot  out  every  word ;  but  if 
what  is  stated  has  a  place  in  providence,  and 
forms  a  part  of  American  history,  it  should  stand 
forth  in  the  light  of  day  for  our  guidance  and  for 
the  instruction  of  posterity.  The  facts  we  have 
brought  forward  are,  however,  only  as  the  dust  of 
the  balances.  What  order  of  clergy,  more  than  all 
others,  are  called  upon  to  visit  prisoners  in  their 
cells  and  officiate  on  the  gallows?  Romanists  ! 
What  is  the  religion  of  the  people  who,  in  our 
great  cities,  sustain  and  carry  on  the  liquor-traffic? 
Romanism !  What  nations  claiming  to  be  civil- 
ized are  the  lowest  down  in  education,  culture, 
and  morality?  Papal  nations;  and  Italy,  the 
home  of  the  pope,  is  at  the  bottom ! 

Girded  around  on  all  sides,  and  penetrated  in 
the  center,  as  our  country  was,  by  Romanism  in 
1770,  is  it  not  a  wonder  that  it  did  not  take  pos- 


200  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

session  ?  Are  we  not  indebted  to  a  special  prov- 
idence that  it  did  not?  And  what  form  did  that 
providence  take  but  the  rise  on  the  soil  and  the 
marvelous  spread  of  Methodism? 

The  Baptist,  Presbyterian,  and  Congregational 
Churches,  wherever  they  go,  carry  with  them  a 
sound  and  thorough-going  moral  influence ;  but 
they  received  the  stamp  of  their  character  across 
the  sea,  and  were  not  adapted  to  the  vast  pioneer- 
ing work  demanded  in  this  country  by  the  mar- 
velous march  of  empire  westward.  Methodism 
could  put  into  the  field  a  hundred  such  men  as 
Gatch,  Garrettson,  Ware,  Kibby,  Lee,  McKendree, 
Cook,  Broadhead,  Poythress,  Brice,  McClintock, 
Parker,  Cartwright,  Walker,  Young,  Finley,  Quinn, 
Gruber,  Slade,  Bigelow,  Bostwick,  and  Beau- 
champ,  where  either  of  these  denominations  could 
one  who  was  their  equal  in  pioneer-work.  The 
plain  fact  is,  Methodism  was  raised  up  on  the  soil, 
to  grapple  with  a  condition  of  things  that,  was 
new  to  the  whole  world. 

Methodism  encountered  its  greatest  difficulty 
when,  in  its  infancy,  it  was  called  upon  to  meet 
the  monstrous  problem  of  slavery.  Ignoring  the 
political  and  commercial  aspects  of  the  question, 
it  fixed  its  attention  solely  upon  its  moral  element, 
and  indorsed  the  sentiment  tersely  expressed  by 
Wesley,  that  "slavery  is  the  sum  of  all  villain- 
ies." It  put  slavery  near  the  head  of  the  long 
catalogue  of  crimes  that  is  found  in  society  and 
nations.  Prima  facie  a  homicide  is  regarded  as 


A  CONSERVATOR  OF  MORAL  FORCES.      201 

a  murder,  and  yet  there  are  cases  in  which,  on 
investigation,  the  accused  may  be  able  to  prove 
that  the  killing  was  justifiable.  So  there  may 
have  been  circumstances  in  which  the  relation  of 
master  and  slave  was  mercy  and  kindness  to  the 
slave,  and  hence  justifiable ;  but  till  such  facts 
were  proven  to  exist,  the  slaveholder  was  regarded 
as  a  criminal,  and  emancipation  demanded  of  him. 
So  preached  and  taught  Coke  and  Asbury,  piib- 
licly  and  privately.  All  the  early  Methodist 
preachers  followed  their  example. 

In  the  first  "Discipline"  published,  the  first 
year  after  the  organization  of  the  Church,  1785, 
we  find  the  following : 

"  Q-  What  methods  can  we  take  to  extirpate 
slavery  ? 

11  A.  We  are  deeply  conscious  of  the  impro- 
priety of  making  new  terms  of  communion  for  a 
religious  society  already  established,  excepting  on 
the  most  pressing  occasion  ;  and  such  we  esteem 
the  practice  of  holding  our  fellow-creatures  in 
slavery.  We  view  it  as  contrary  to  the  golden 
law  of  God,  on  which  hang  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  and  the  inalienable  rights  of  mankind, 
as  well  as  every  principle  of  the  Revolution,  to 
hold  in  the  deepest  debasement,  in  a  more  abject 
slavery  than  is  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the 
world  except  America,  so  many  souls  that  are  all 
capable  of  the  image  of  God. 

"We  therefore  think  it  our  most  bounden  duty 
to  take  immediately  some  effectual  method  to  ex- 


202  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

tirpate  this  abomination  from  among  us,  and  for 
that  purpose  we  add  the  following  to  the  Rules 
of  our  Society." 

Then  follow  the  demands  that  all  members 
owning  slaves  shall  be  required  to  manumit  any 
slaves  they  may  own  within  a  specified  period  of 
time ;  that  the  preacher  shall  keep  a  faithful  rec- 
ord of  all  cases  of  manumission;  that  any  mem- 
ber who  feels  himself  agrieved  at  these  new  terms 
of  membership,  may  quietly  withdraw  from  mem- 
bership in  the  Church  without  censure ;  and  that 
no  new  members  be  admitted  to  the  Church  who 
sustains  to  slaves  the  relation  of  master.  Buy- 
ing or  selling  slaves  was  prohibited,  "except  for 
the  purpose  of  their  emancipation." 

But  Methodism  in  its  babyhood  was  alone,  or 
nearly  so,  grappling  with  a  monster.  Bishop 
Coke  and  others,  however,  commenced  a  crusade 
against  slavery.  A  Southern  lady  offered  a  crowd 
of  the  baser  sort  fifty  pounds  if  they  would  give 
the  bishop  fifty  lashes.  He  was  mobbed,  and  by 
the  Virginia  authorities  arrested  for  sedition.  In 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  Asbury  was  treated 
most  unhandsomely  by  roughs.  Many  cases  of 
emancipation  occurred,  and  the  preachers  of  the 
Southern  Conference  petitioned  the  General  As- 
sembly of  North  Carolina,  praying  that  an  act 
might  be  passed  permitting  such  as  desired  to  do 
so,  to  emancipate  their  slaves. 

At  this  time  Washington  was  living  quietly  at 
Mt.  Vernon  as  a  private  citizen ;  but  really  he  wa  ; 


A  CONSERVATOR  OF  MORAL  FORCES.      203 

the  foremost  patriot  of  all  the  world.  Bishops 
Coke  and  Asbury  visited  him  for  the  purpose  of 
enlisting  his  services  in  behalf  of  emancipation. 
Bishop  Coke  made  the  following  note  of  the  in- 
terview : 

"  He  received  us  very  politely  and  was  open  to 
access.  He  is  quite  the  plain  country  gentleman. 
After  dinner  we  desired  a  private  interview,  and 
opened  to  him  the  grand  business  on  which  we 
came,  presenting  to  him  our  petition  for  the  eman- 
cipation of  the  Negroes,  and  entreating  his  signa- 
ture if  the  eminence  of  his  station  did  not  render 
it  inexpedient  for  him  to  sign  a  petition.  He  in- 
formed us  that  he  was  of  our  sentiments,  and  had 
signified  his  thoughts  on  the  subject  to  most  of 
the  great  men  of  the  State ;  that  he  did  not  see  it 
proper  to  sign  the  petition ;  but  if  the  Assembly 
took  it  into  consideration,  he  would  signify  his 
sentiments  to  the  Assembly  by  letter.  He  asked 
us  to  spend  the  evening  and  lodge  at  his  house, 
but  our  engagements  the  following  day  at  Annap- 
olis would  not  admit  of  it." 

Had  these  heroic  men  kept  up  the  fight  against 
slavery  they  might  possibly  have  succeeded,  and 
avoided  the  rupture  which  took  place  in  the 
Church  in  1844,  and  the  awful  war  of  1861-65. 
Had  Washington  given  to  them  his  hearty  co- 
operation and  the  influence  of  his  great  name, 
they  would  have  been  greatly  encouraged  to  carry 
on  the  battle.  But  their  only  allies  were  the 
quiet  Quakers.  They  were  embarrassed  by  the 


204  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

strange  and  unaccountable  fact  that  Whitefield  had 
dealt  in  slaves  for  commercial  purposes;  not  to 
enrich  himself — for  there  was  not  a  particle  of 
avarice  in  his  nature — but  to  endow  one  of  his 
institutions  of  charity.  How  paradoxical  it  seems 
that  a  man  of  Whitefield's  ability  and  moral  pen- 
etration could  consign  men,  women,  and  children 
to  the  perpetual  degradations  and  miseries  of 
American  slavery — "the  vilest  the  sun  ever  shone 
upon" — for  charitable  and  benevolent  purposes! 
The  fact  is,  Wesley,  Coke,  Asbury,  and  Method- 
ists generally,  on  the  moral  questions  of  that  day, 
were  far  in  the  advance  of  their  times.  Asbury 
and  Coke  were  really  combating  the  spirit  of 
the  age  in  which  they  lived;  but  the  heavy 
blows  they  struck  took  effect,  and  were  never  for- 
gotten. Would  the  States  everywhere  have  per- 
mitted emancipation,  it  is  likely  that  by  the  close 
of  the  first  decade  of  the  Church's  history  there 
would  not  have  been  a  slaveholder  within  its  pale. 
But  would  there  have  been  one  slave  the  less  in 
the  Nation?  As  the  case  stood,  all  that  testimony 
and  argument  could  do  was  done  to  do  away  with 
the  evil.  Had  the  matter  been  pressed  further,  it 
is  likely  that  the  practical  effects  would  have  been 
the  exclusion  of  Methodism  from  the  slave  pop- 
ulation of  the  South.  The  question  has  a  great 
many  sides,  and  the  facts  have  demonstrated  that 
its  complexities  defied  the  mastery  of  man.  Even 
if  Coke  and  Asbury  had  stood  by  their  first  con- 
victions, and  never  permitted  a  slaveholder  to 


A  CONSERVATOR  OF  MORAL  FORCES.      205 

enter  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  end 
God  only  could  have  emancipated  the  slaves ;  and 
this  stain  could  have  been  removed  only  as  it 
was — washed  out  in  rivers  of  blood. 

But  the  fact  which  we  wish  to  make  emphatic 
is,  that  Methodism  was  the  aggressive  champion 
of  the  moral  aspects  of  this  as  of  all  other  moral 
questions,  and  that  the  young  Nation  was  made 
to  feel  its  power.  This  may  be  seen  in  a  little 
episode  which  took  place  in  the  Convention  which 
framed  the  Constitution  of  our  country.  After 
the  article  touching  the  slave-trade  and  slavery 
had  been  adopted,  Mr.  Marshall — afterwards  Chief 
Justice  of  the  United  States — called  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  Methodists  and  Quakers  could 
not  conscientiously,  as  the  document  then  stood, 
vote  for  its  adoption;  and  through  his  influence, 
in  deference  to  the  moral  convictions  of  these 
bodies,  the  words  "slave"  and  "slavery"  were 
excluded  from  the  Constitution.  If  any  one  can 
name  a  moral  question,  great  or  small,  which  has 
ever  agitated  the  Nation  or  a  community,  and 
Methodism  has  not  thrown  its  influence  on  the 
side  of  truth,  right,  and  humanity,  we  should  like 
to  have  it  done.  Neither  our  observation  nor 
reading  has  ever  made  us  acquainted  with  such  a 
case.  Or,  if  in  the  wide  world  a  Methodist  com- 
munity can  be  found,  made  up  of  infidels,  drunk- 
ards, gamblers,  profligates — such  as  characterized 
Detroit,  Mackinaw,  St.  Louis,  Natchez,  New  Or- 
leans, and  other  places,  when  Romanism  held 


206          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

sway — then  we  will  confess  that  in  such  locality 
the  salt  had  lost  its  savor  and  become  a  curse  to 
society.  The  key-note  of  its  preaching  being  re- 
pentance, a  complete  and  absolute  reformation  of 
life,  attended  by  a  spiritual  regeneration  of  the 
heart,  to  be  followed  by  holy  living,  no  agency 
could  have  been  devised  which  was  better  adapted 
to  promote  the  morals  of  the  Nation  than  Meth- 
odism. And  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  for 
many  years  afterwards,  was  not  this  the  great  and 
crying  need  of  the  Nation?  And  are  not  its  ne- 
cessities as  great  and  as  urgent  in  many  respects 
at  the  present  time  as  ever?  We  shall  see 
further  on. 


"  ffiffiX'^'  *kus,  ky  comparison,  see  what  was  the  secret  of  the 
Wesleyan  movement.  Rejecting  the  cumbrous  rigid- 
ity of  High-Churchmanship  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  ultra 
extreme  of  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  on  the  other, 
Wesley  retained  an  energetic  Church  polity  and  a  true  doc- 
trine of  salvation  through  Christ.  To  these  he  added  the  in- 
tensifying doctrines  of  the  conscious  witness  of  the  Spirit  and 
entire  sanctification,  and  insisted  on  their  actual  realization 
in  experimental  life.  His  entire  system  of  polity  and  doc- 
trine and  life  thereby  strangely  presaged  and  harmonized 
with  modern  freedom  and  activity.  It  was  an  anticipation 
of  our  age.  It  was  the  morning-break  in  the  religious  world 

of  the  modern  life."  — WHEDON. 

MB 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  THEOLOGY  OF  PROTESTANT  CHRISTENDOM 
THE  GIFT  OF  METHODISM. 

/TVHE  invention  of  printing,  the  manufacture  of 
-*-  gunpowder,  and  the  discovery  of  America 
did  much,  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, to  set  a  stagnant  world  in  motion.  The 
quickened  intellect  of  man  was  roused  to  action 
as  from  a  long  sleep,  and  the  Mohammedan  Arabs 
must  be  regarded  as  leaders  in  all  lines  of  scien- 
tific thought.  Chemistry,  medicine,  and  mathe- 
matics became  specialties  with  that  people.  The 
papal  method  of  solving  all  questions,  whether 
scientific,  political,  nautical,  geographical,  astro- 
nomical, or  physical,  by  Scripture,  never  fettered 
or  warped  their  mind  ;  hence  they  were  free  to 
read  wisely,  and  properly  interpret,  the  ever-open 
volume  of  nature. 

The  human  mind  was  never  more  free,  active, 
and  energetic  than  it  was  in  this  country  at  the 
founding  of  the  great  Republic ;  and  hence  the 
State  papers  that  were  then  given  to  the  world 
have  never  in  ability  been  surpassed.  Every- 
where, and  in  every  thing,  common  sense  was 
making  its  appeal  to  first  principles.  Descartes's 
dictum  to  accept  as  true  nothing  till  supported  by 
absolute  proof,  like  leaven  had  worked  itself  thor- 

18  209 


210          OUR  CO  UNI  R  Y  AND  ME  THODISM. 

oughly  into  the  minds  of  men,  and  nothing,  by  its 
claims  to  sanctity,  was  exempt  from  criticism. 
The  current  theology  of  the  times  must  be 
brought  into  this  white-hot  focus  of  a  critical  ex- 
amination, and,  to  say  the  least,  this  was  more 
than  its  friends  desired. 

The  Westminster  and  Saybrook  forms  of  the- 
ology, as  taught  in  nearly  all  the  pulpits  of  North 
America  in  1766,  is  embraced  in  the  third,  tenth, 
eleventh,  and  seventeenth  chapters  of  the  Pres- 
byterian "Confession  of  Faith."  These  articles 
read  as  follows: 

44  OF  GOD'S  DECREES. 

"I.  God,  from  all  eternity,  did,  by  the  most 
wise  and  holy  counsel  of  his  own  will,  freely  and 
unchangeably  ordain  whatever  comes  to  pass;  yet 
so  as  thereby  neither  is  God  the  author  of  sin,  nor 
is  violence  offered  to  the  will  of  the  creatures,  nor 
is  the  liberty  or  contingency  of  second  causes 
taken  away,  but  rather  established. 

"II.  Although  God  knows  whatsoever  may  or 
can  come  to  pass  upon  all  supposed  conditions, 
yet  hath  he  not  decreed  any  thing  because  he 
foresaw  it  as  future,  or  as  that  which  would  come 
to  pass  upon  such  conditions. 

"III.  By  the  decree  of  God,  for  the  manifesta- 
tion of  his  glory,  some  men  and  angels  are  predes- 
tinated unto  everlasting  life,  and  others  foreor- 
dained to  everlasting  death. 

"  IV.  These  angels  and  men  thus  predestinated 


THEOLOGY  METHODISTIC.  2 1 1 

and  foreordained  are  particularly  and  unchange- 
ably designed ;  and  their  number  is  so  certain  and 
definite,  that  it  can  not  be  either  increased  or  di- 
minished. 

"V.  Those  of  mankind  that  are  predestinated 
unto  life,  God,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world 
was  laid,  according  to  his  eternal  and  immutable 
purpose,  and  the  secret  counsel  and  good  pleasure 
of  his  will,  hath  chosen  in  Christ  unto  everlasting 
glory,  out  of  his  mere  free  grace  and  love,  without 
any  foresight  of  faith  or  good  works,  or  perse- 
verance in  either  of  them,  or  any  other  thing  in 
the  creature  'as  conditions  or  causes  moving  him 
thereto,  and  all  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious 
grace. 

"VI.  As  God  hath  appointed  the  elect  unto 
glory,  so  hath  he,  by  the  eternal  and  most  free 
purpose  of  his  will,  foreordained  all  the  means 
thereunto.  Wherefore,  they  who  are  elected  be- 
ing fallen  in  Adam,  are  redeemed  by  Christ,  are 
effectually  called  unto  faith  in  Christ  by  his  Spirit 
working  in  due  season;  are  justified,  adopted, 
sanctified,  and  kept  by  his  power  through  faith 
unto  salvation ;  neither  are  any  other  redeemed  by 
Christ  effectually  called,  justified,  adopted,  sanc- 
tified, and  saved,  but  the  elect  only. 

"VII.  The  rest  of  mankind  God  was  pleased, 
according  to  the  unsearchable  counsel  of  his  own 
will,  whereby  he  extendeth  or  withholdeth  mercy 
as  he  pleaseth,  for  the  glory  of  his  sovereign  power 
over  his  creatures,  to  pass  by  and  ordain  them  to 


212  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

dishonor  and  wrath  for  their  sins,  to  the  praise  of 
his  glorious  justice." 

Of  effectual  calling,  says  Chapter  X,  Article  i : 

"  I.  All  those  whom  God  hath  predestinated 
unto  life,  and  those  only,  he  is  pleased,  in  his  ap- 
pointed and  accepted  time,  effectually  to  call,  by 
his  word  and  Spirit,  out  of  that  state  of  sin  and 
death,  in  which  they  are  by  nature,  to  grace  and 
salvation  by  Jesus  Christ ;  enlightening  their 
minds  spiritually  and  savingly  to  understand  the 
things  of  God,  taking  away  their  heart  of  stone 
and  giving  unto  them  a  heart  of  flesh;  renewing 
their  wills,  and,  by  his  almighty  power,  deter- 
mining them  to  that  which  is  good,  and  effectually 
drawing  them  to  Jesus  Christ;  yet  so  as  they 
come  most  freely,  being  made  willing  by  his 
grace. 

"II.  This  effectual  call  is  of  God's  free  and 
special  grace  alone,  not  from  anything  at  all  fore- 
seen in  man,  who  is  altogether  passive  therein, 
until,  being  quickened  and  renewed  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  he  is  thereby  enabled  to  answer  this  call, 
and  to  embrace  the  grace  offered  and  conveyed 
in  it. 

"III.  Elect  infants,  dying  in  infancy,  are  re- 
generated and  saved  by  Christ  through  the  Spirit, 
who  worketh  when  and  where  and  how  he  pleaseth. 
So  also  are  all  other  elect  persons  who  are  inca- 
pable of  being  outwardly  called  by  the  ministry 
of  the  Word. 

"IV.  Others  not  elected,   although  they  may 


THEOL OG  Y  METHODISTIC.  2 1 3 

be  called  by  the  ministry  of  the  Word,  and  may 
have  some  common  operations  of  the  Spirit,  yet 
they  never  truly  come  to  Christ,  and,  therefore, 
can  not  be  saved ;  much  less  can  men  not  pro- 
fessing the  Christian  religion  be  saved  in  any  way 
whatsoever,  be  they  never  so  diligent  to  frame 
their  lives  according  to  the  light  of  nature  and 
the  law  of  that  religion  they  do  profess ;  and  to 
assert  and  maintain  that  they  may,  is  very  per- 
nicious and  to  be  detested." 

These  articles  of  faith  were  so  clearly  written 
and  logically  arranged  that  they  could  never  need 
any  explanation.  Each  one  speaks  right  out  for 
itself,  and  means  exactly  what  it  says.  The  log- 
ical mind  as  well  as  the  rudest  common  sense 
clearly  sees  that  they  make  God  the  real  author 
of  all  human  actions,  and  strip  the  human  race — 
yes,  and  the  whole  universe — of  its  moral  char- 
acter. Nero's  life,  as  fully  as  St.  Paul's,  was  the 
outcome  of  a  divine  agency;  for  whatever  they 
did,  neither  was  deserving  of  praise  nor  blame. 
The  one,  as  fully  as  the  other,  acted  out,  in  his 
own  will,  the  divine  will.  Here  we  meet  the  doc- 
trine of  a  dire  necessity,  as  taught  by  the  ancient 
Greek  Stoics. 

On  the  perseverance  of  the  saints  (Chap.  XVII, 
Sees,  i  and  n),  we  read: 

"I.  They  whom  God  hath  accepted  in  his  Be- 
loved, effectually  called  and  sanctified  by  his 
Spirit,  can  neither  totally  nor  finally  fall  away 
from  the  state  of  grace,  but  shall  certainly 


214  OUR  CO UNTR Y  AND  METHODISM. 

persevere  therein  to  the  end,  and  be  eternally 
saved. 

"II.  This  perseverance  of  the  saints  depends, 
not  upon  their  own  free  will,  but  upon  the  im- 
mutability of  the  decree  of  election,  flowing  from 
the  free  and  unchangeable  love  of  God  the  Father ; 
upon  the  efficacy  of  the  merit  and  intercession  of 
Jesus  Christ;  the  abiding  of  the  Spirit  and  of 
the  seed  of  God  within  them;  and  the  nature  of 
the  covenant  of  grace, — from  all  which  ariseth 
also  the  certainty  and  infallibility  thereof." 

Lest,  possibly,  we  may  be  mistaken  in  our  in- 
terpretation of  this  creed,  let  us  hear  on  this  sub- 
ject the  brilliant  Dr.  Chalmers,  one  of  the  greatest 
Presbyterian  theologians  that  has  lived  since  Cal- 
vin died.  He  says: 

"But  we  are  ready  enough  to  concede  to  the 
Divine  Being  the  administration  of  the  material 
world,  and  put  into  his  hands  all  the  forces  of  its 
mighty  elements.  But  let  us  carry  the  command- 
ing influence  of  Deity  into  the  higher  world  of 
moral  and  intelligent  beings.  Let  us  not  erect 
the  will  of  the  creature  into  an  independent  prin- 
ciple. Let  us  not  conceive  that  the  agency  of 
man  can  bring  about  one  single  iota  of  deviation 
from  the  plans  and  purposes  of  God;  or  that  he 
can  be  thwarted  and  compelled  to  vary  in  a  single 
case  by  the  movement  of  any  of  those  subordinate 
beings  whom  he  himself  has  created.  There  may 
be  a  diversity  of  operations,  but  it  is  God  who 
worketh  all  in  all.  Look  at  the  resolute  and  in- 


THEOLOGY  METHODISTIC.  215 

dependent  man,  and  you  there  see  the  purposes  of 
the  human  mind,  entered  upon  with  decision  and 
followed  up  by  vigorous  and  successful  execution. 
But  these  only  make  one  diversity  of  God's  oper- 
ations. The  will  of  man,  active  and  spontaneous 
and  fluctuating  as  it  appears  to  be,  is  an  instru- 
ment in  his  hand,  and  he  turns  it  at  his  pleasure 
and  he  brings  other  instruments  to  act  upon  it 
and  he  plies  it  with  all  its  excitements,  and  he 
measures  the  force  and  proportion  of  each  of 
them;  and  every  step  of  every  individual  receives 
as  determinate  a  character  from  the  hand  of  God 
as  every  mile  of  a  planet's  orbit,  or  every  gust  of 
wind,  or  every  wave  of  the  sea,  or  every  particle 
of  flying  dust,  or  every  rivulet  of  flowing  water. 
The  power  of  God  knows  no  exception.  It  is 
absolute  and  unlimited;  and  while  it  embraces 
the  vast,  it  carries  its  resistless  influence  to  all 
the  minute  and  unnoticed  diversities  of  existence. 
It  reigns  and  operates  through  all  the  secrecies  of 
the  inner  man.  It  gives  birth  to  every  purpose. 
It  gives  impulse  to  every  desire.  It  gives  shape 
and  color  to  every  conception.  It  wields  an  en- 
tire ascendency  over  every  attribute  of  the  mind; 
and  the  will  and  the  fancy  and  the  understanding, 
with  all  the  countless  variety  of  their  hidden  and 
fugitive  operations,  are  submitted  to  it.  It  gives 
movement  and  direction  through  every  one  point 
in  the  line  of  our  pilgrimage.  At  no  one  moment 
of  time  does  it  abandon  us.  It  follows  us  to  the 
hour  of  death,  and  it  carries  us  to  our  place  and 


2 1 6  OUR  CO UNTR  Y  AND  ME THODISM. 

our  everlasting  destiny  in  the  region  beyond  it. 
It  is  true  that  no  one  gets  to  heaven  but  he  who 
by  holiness  is  meet  for  it.  But  the  same  Power 
who  carries  us  there,  works  in  us  the  meet- 
ness.  .  .  .  God  could,  if  it  pleased  him,  read 
out  at  this  moment  the  names  in  this  congrega- 
tion who  are  ordained  to  eternal  life  and  are  writ- 
ten in  his  book." 

We  have  now  before  us  the  most  conspicuous 
feature  of  the  creed  of  the  Churches  as  held  at  the 
time  of  the  founding  of  the  Republic,  and  the 
fragment  of  a  sermon  we  have  given  from  Chal- 
mers is  a  sample  of  the  preaching  which  charac- 
terized those  times.  These  forms  of  thought 
carry  us  away  back  into  times  long  since  passed 
away.  They  form  a  compound  of  heathen  philos- 
ophy and  speculative  theology.  Not  an  element 
of  distinctive  Christianity  can  be  found  in  them. 
Was  it  possible  for  any  body  of  Christians  to 
evangelize  America,  burdened  with  such  a  creed 
as  this?  It  was  impossible;  and  when  Methodism 
arose,  its  death-knell  was  sounded ;  and  to-day  it 
has  no  more  authority  with  the  people  than  the 
Oracles  of  Delphi. 

As  Calvinism  is  all-inclusive,  all-exclusive,  and 
absolute  in  its  terms,  Methodists  have  ever  seen 
that  it  was  not  susceptible  of  modification.  To 
modify  the  figure  of  a  circle  or  of  a  square  is  to 
destroy  it  as  such.  So  with  Calvinism  as  a  sys- 
tem of  theology.  It  is  made  up  largely  of  what 
purports  to  be  a  statement  of  facts — of  facts  as 


THEOLOG  Y  ME THODISTIC.  2 1 7 

absolute  as  the  axioms  of  mathematics.  Any 
change  is  denial  or  destruction.  God  has,  or  he 
has  not,  foreordained  whatsoever  comes  to  pass; 
there  is,  or  there  is  not,  a  certain  number  elected 
to  be  saved,  say  one  in  ten ;  some  men  were,  or 
they  were  not,  predestinated  from  all  eternity  to 
be  reprobates;  there  are  "elect  infants,"  or  there 
are  not;  the  converted  soul  must  persevere,  or  it 
may  "fall  away"  and  "draw  back  to  perdition;" 
and  Christ  died,  or  he  did  not  die,  for  all  men,  etc. 
Now  it  is  easy  to  see  that  all  these  affirmations  of 
Calvinism  are  absolutely  true,  or  they  are  abso- 
lutely false.  The  idea  of  modification  is  not  only 
inconceivable,  but  absurd.  Hence,  from  the  days 
of  Wesley  to  the  present  time,  the  blows  dealt 
upon  Calvinism  were  intended  to  extirpate  or  an- 
nihilate the  heresy.  Of  their  success,  Professor 
Marvin  R.  Vincent,  of  the  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  says:  "Arminian  theology  nab  con- 
tributed to  bring  the  minds  of  Presbyterians  up 
to  that  tremendous  protest  which  is  fast  driving 
the  screws  into  the  coffin-lid  of  that  hideous  and 
unscriptural  doctrine  of  arbitrary  predestination  to 
eternal  wrath." 

To  the  fatalism,  to  the  divine  authorship  of 
human  conduct,  and  the  virtual,  because  logical, 
denial  of  a  moral  world,  Methodism  opposed  the 
free  and  responsible  agency  of  man,  the  turpitude 
of  crime,  because  it  need  not  have  been  com- 
mitted, and  the  just  awards  of  a  judgment-day. 
It  held  with  the  Calvinist  that  man  was  every 

19 


218  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

moment  under  government,  because  he  was  al- 
ways in  the  presence  of  right  and  wrong,  and  that 
necessity  was  laid  upon  him  to  determine  to  do 
the  one  or  the  other;  and  against  the  Calvinist  it 
held  that  man  was  invested  with  the  power  at  the 
same  moment  to  decide  or  determine  to  act  either 
for  the  right  or  for  the  wrong.  And  then,  again, 
it  held  with  the  Calvinist  that,  after  man  had 
acted,  necessity  was  laid  upon  him  to  abide  by 
the  consequences  of  his  own  act,  whether  good  or 
bad.  But  man,  in  determining  what  his  act  shall 
be,  decides  for  himself  what  its  consequences  will 
be.  In  man's  self-centered  power  of  will,  we  find 
the  basis  of  responsibility,  the  possibility  of  per- 
sonal virtue,  and  the  ground  of  a  moral  universe. 
The  appeal  which  this  doctrine  made  to  the 
common  sense  and  general  consciousness  of  man- 
kind was  all  that  was  needed  to  give  it  currency 
with  the  people,  and  when  the  Calvinistic  meta- 
physicians, with  a  challenge  on  their  lips,  entered 
the  arena  of  debate,  they  were  not  long  waiting 
before  an  antagonist  appeared;  and  after  fighting 
the  ground  over  and  over  thousands  of  times,  the 
conflict  is  ended,  and  the  Methodists  hold  quiet 
possession  of  the  field.  The  doctrine  of  personal 
guiltiness  and  personal  responsibility  for  conduct 
was  at  the  base  of  the  Herculean  efforts  the  pio- 
neer preachers  made  to  check  the  vices  of  the 
people  and  reform  their  practices.  The  refuge 
many  of  the  guilty  had  found  in  the  dogma  that 
"God  had  foreordained  whatsoever  comes  to  pass," 


THEOLOGY  METHODISTIC.  219 

was  bombarded  again  and  again  with  the  heaviest 
guns  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  it.  The 
Methodist  doctrine  was  exactly  what  the  people 
wanted,  and  they  accepted  it. 

The  doctrine  that  God  had  foreordained  a  part 
of  the  human  family  to  be  damned — that  Christ 
did  not  include  them  in  his  redemptive  suffer- 
ings— has,  a  thousand  times,  been  made  to  cut  a 
sorry  figure  in  the  presence  of  such  Scriptures  as 
these:  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
him  might  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life;" 
"He  became  a  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not 
for  ours  only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world;" 
"He  died  for  all;"  "Tasted  death  for  every  man," 
etc.,  etc.  Nothing  more  horrid  and  revolting  was 
ever  presented  to  the  mind  of  man  than  the  de- 
crees of  Calvinism.  Wretchedness  and  despair 
have  been  inflicted  upon  thousands  by  them;  and 
is  it  any  wonder  that  the  opposite  doctrine  of 
free  grace  for  all  was  hailed  by  the  Nation  as  a 
new  evangel?  And  this  offer  of  free  salvation, 
because  of  its  contrast  with  opposite  and  current 
doctrine,  became  the  most  striking  and  inspiring 
element  of  Methodism.  As  the  people  had  never 
heard  such  preaching  before,  this  word  to  them 
was  a  new  gospel,  and  it  was  exactly  what  they 
thought  a  gospel  from  God  ought  to  be — for  every 
one,  if  for  any.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that 
it  took  with  the  people,  and  that  all  classes  gladly 
listened  to  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy. 


220          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

The  prevalent  idea,  preached  everywhere  and 
in  every  pulpit,  that  there  were  non-elect  infants; 
that  many  infants  were  lost;  that  there  were  "in- 
fants in  hell  not  a  span  long,"  had  filled  many  a 
heart  with  unutterable  pangs.  To  every  human 
mind,  in  its  normal  state,  this  was  a  horrid  doc- 
trine ;  and  the  wonder  is,  that  it  did  not  drive  into 
infidelity  every  soul  which  believed  that  the  Bible 
taught  it.  Along  all  this  dreary  coast  Meth- 
odism has  shone  as  a  celestial  and  comforting 
light.  Especially  have  mothers — thousands  of 
them — been  relieved  from  an  insupportable 
burden  of  sorrow  which  the  old  doctrine  had 
laid  upon  them.  The  doctrine  that  every  child 
that  was  ever  born  into  the  world  first  saw  the 
light  within  God's  covenant  of  mercy,  and  hence, 
if  it  died,  was  sure  of  heaven,  gave  to  the  gospel 
a  feature  of  loveliness  the  people  had  never  seen 
till  it  was  presented  by  the  Methodist  ministry. 
It  was  the  breaking  forth  of  a  new  light  upon  the 
world,  and  the  men  who  declared  it  were  hailed 
as  messengers  sent  from  heaven.  If  these  preach- 
ers had  their  toils  and  sufferings,  they  also  were 
favored  with  an  opportunity  to  do  good  such  as 
but  few  generations  have  ever  enjoyed. 

The  old  doctrine  was  that  Adam's  sin  was  im- 
puted to  his  race,  and  that  Christ's  righteousness 
was  imputed  to  the  elect,  and  that  they  must  be 
saved,  whereas  the  non-elect  must  be  damned.  In 
both  cases  the  law  of  necessity  logically  prevailed 
and  virtue  was  excluded. 


THEOLOGY  METHODISTIC.  22 1 

Methodism  denied  all  these  propositions  in 
toto,  and  held  that,  though  the  race  has  suffered 
a  loss  of  spirituality  because  of  Adam's  spiritual 
death,  yet  Adam's  guilt  rested  only  on  himself, 
and  that  it  is  man's  faith  in  Christ  that  is  im- 
puted to  him  for  righteousness.  The  one  doctrine 
was  a  shock  to  common  sense,  for  it  is  without  a 
reason;  the  other  commanded  a  ready  assent,  as  it 
appealed  to  consciousness  in  support  of  its  truth. 

The  hypothesis  of  two  gospel  calls  to  embrace 
Christ — the  "common"  and  the  "effectual"  call; 
the  one  insincere,  empty,  and  a  mockery;  the  other 
an  imperative  and  an  irresistible  demand,  made 
only  for  the  elect  to  obey — was,  formally  and  log- 
ically, an  essential  part  of  the  scheme ;  but  there 
was  nothing  in  it  to  move  or  attract  the  human 
heart,  but  much,  on  the  other  hand,  to  repel  it. 
How  many  thousands  have  responded  to  such  a 
gospel  in  these  terms:  "If  I  am  one  of  the  elect, 
I  shall,  in  God's  own  time,  receive  the  'effectual 
call,'  and  then,  of  course,  I  shall  respond;  but  till 
then  I  need  give  myself  no  concern  for  my  eter- 
nity, for  I  can  do  nothing!" 

The  old  gospel  as  now  presented  was,  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.  Repent — now, 
this  moment,  every  one  of  you,  and  believe  the 
gospel.  Such  preaching  the  people  of  America 
never  heard  till  Whitefield,  Edwards,  and  the 
Methodists  went  among  them  and  delivered  it. 
Such  preaching,  attended  by  the  demonstration 
of  the  Spirit  and  with  power,  moved  the  masses 


222          OUR  CO UNTR  Y  AND  ME THODISM. 

heavenward  as  they  had  never  been  moved  before. 
This,  in  the  form  of  Methodism,  was  as  "new 
wine  in  a  new  bottle  "  for  America. 

Dr.  Lewis  H.  Stearns,  in  a  letter  to  the  Inde- 
pendent on  Wesley's  death,  says:  "This  brings  us 
to  consider  the  influence  of  Wesleyanism  upon 
the  doctrinal  system  of  Calvinism.  Few  would 
deny  that  this  system  has  undergone  very  impor- 
tant changes  during  the  last  hundred  and  fifty 
years.  To  realize  their  extent,  we  must  turn,  not 
to  the  text-books  of  systematic  theology,  but  to 
the  preaching  of  our  ministers.  Even  the  most 
conservative  modern  Calvinists  preach  very  differ- 
ently from  their  predecessors  of  the  earlier  part  of 
the  present  century." 

But  the  prevalent  religion  of  this  country  was 
a  matter  of  education,  of  culture,  of  form,  of  serv- 
ice and  ceremony;  and  when  from  the  lips  of 
Methodists  the  people  heard  of  a  salvation  that 
was  personal,  direct,  instantaneous,  quickening 
the  soul  of  man  into  spiritual  life,  attended  by 
adoption  into  the  family  of  God  and  the  comforts 
of  the  Holy  Paraclete,  they  all  listened  in  amaze- 
ment and  many  with  joy.  Some  mocked,  and 
took  the  ground  that  it  could  not  positively  be 
known  who  the  elect  were  till  the  judgment  of 
the  Great  Day;  for  this  was  one  of  the  secret 
things  that  belonged  to  God.  But  the  preaching 
of  this  doctrine  was  backed  up  by  the  testimony 
of  thousands,  who  were  ready  always  and  every- 
where to  testify  that  they  knew  from  experience 


THEOLOGY  METHODISTIC.  223 

that  God  has  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sin ;  and 
it  was  further  found  that  a  multitude  of  Scrip- 
tures could  be  brought  to  its  support;  that  it  is 
agreeable  to  reason  and  to  the  whole  tenor  of  the 
Word  of  God.  A  knowledge  of  the  privilege  of 
the  sons  of  God  the  new  Nation  needed  more  than 
any  other  one  thing  found  in  the  whole  realm  of 
grace. 

Methodism  found  that  the  Churches  had  lost 
sight  of  the  precious  doctrine  of  the  witness  of 
the  Spirit. 

"Where  God  performs  directly  the  work  of 
justification  and  of  regeneration,  is  it  not  to  be 
expected  that  he  will  as  directly  give  notice  of  so 
wonderful  a  mercy?  And  this  thought  suggests 
the  reasonableness  of  the  doctrine  of  the  witness 
of  the  Spirit,  directly  testifying  to  us  that  we  are 
born  of  God. 

"The  witness  of  our  own  spirit  is  that  self- 
judgment  which  we  are  rationally  able  to  pro- 
nounce, in  the  light  of  consciousness  and  Scripture, 
that  we  are  the  children  of  God.  This  is  a  log- 
ical inference,  drawn  from  the  fruits  we  find,  by 
self-examination,  in  our  minds  and  external  con- 
duct. But  besides  this  is  there  not  felt,  in  every 
deep  religious  experience,  a  simple,  firm  assur- 
ance, like  an  intuition,  by  which  we  are  made  to 
feel  calmly  certain  that  all  is  blessedly  right  be- 
tween God  and  bur  own  soul?  Does  not  this  as- 
surance seem  to  come  into  the  heart  as  from  some 
outer  source?  Does  it  not  come  as  in  answer  to 


224          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

prayer  and  in  direction,  as  from  Him  to  whom  we 
pray?  Scripture,  surely,  makes  the  assuring  and 
witnessing  act  of  the  Spirit  to  be  as  immediate 
and  direct  as  the  justifying  or  regenerating  act. 
Hereby,  then,  we  have  the  witnessing  of  God's 
Spirit  concurrent  with  the  witness  of  our  own 
spirit,  testifying  to  the  work  of  our  justification 
and  adoption."  (Whedon.) 

But,  further,  it  is  the  office  of  the  Spirit  to 
take  of  the  things  of  God  and  show  them  unto 
the  sons  of  God.  The  presence  of  the  Spirit  is 
necessary,  that  the  Christian  may  see  his  spiritual 
condition  in  the  light  of  the  Word.  He  is  made 
conscious  that  he  loves  his  neighbor  and  his  en- 
emy and  his  God ;  that  he  dwells  in  love  ;  that 
he  is  in  the  light,  and  has  peace  with  God  ;  and 
this  consciousness  of  his  inward  state  is  the  result 
of  the  witnessing  Spirit  in  his  heart:  "The  Spirit 
itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are 
the  sons  of  God."  In  the  writings  of  St.  Paul  this 
doctrine  stands  out  in  a  clear  light,  and  from  the 
beginning  it  has  ever  been  one  of  the  character- 
istic doctrines  of  Methodism  all  the  world  around. 

The  Calvinist  was  logically  consistent  in  hold- 
ing to  the  maxim:  "Once  in  grace,  always  in 
grace;"  and  the  logic  of  the  Methodist  doctrine 
required  that  the  opposite  ground  be  held.  Of 
course  no  reprobate  could  be  made  a  subject  of 
grace ;  and  according  to  the  theory,  the  elect  must 
be  made  subjects  of  grace.  The  human  will  had 
nothing  to  do  in  the  case  at  any  stage.  Method- 


THEOLOGY  METHODISTIC.  225 

ism  not  only  recognized  the  free  agency  of  man, 
but  continued  it  after  conversion,  and  followed  it 
even  into  eternity.  Both  the  facts  of  experience 
and  the  word  of  Scripture  corroborated  the  theory 
of  man's  responsibility.  Hence  the  preachers 
urged  the  Church  "to  endure  unto  the  end,"  not 
to  "draw  back"  or  "fall  away,"  but  "be  faithful 
unto  death,"  and  assured  them  that  the  crown  of 
life  was  offered  only  to  such. 

It  is  not  easy  for  us,  at  this  date,  fully  to  ap- 
preciate the  effects  which  were  produced  upon 
the  mind  of  all  classes  by  the  preaching  of  these 
doctrines  by  the  early  pioneer  preachers.  They 
were  as  new  and  strange  to  the  people  as  if  they 
had  not  been  recorded  in  the  Bible.  These  doc- 
trines could  have  been  found  in  the  writings  of 
Catholics  and  of  all  Protestant  bodies;  but  such 
was  the  prevalence  of  the  spirit  of  worldliness 
and  infidelity,  in  both  England  and  this  country, 
that  they  had  been  lost  sight  of  by  both  preachers 
and  people.  Paul,  on  Mars'  Hill,  was  not  a  greater 
wonder  to  the  people  of  Athens  than  Valentine 
Cook  was  at  Redstone,  proclaiming  to  an  im- 
mense crowd  of  Scotch  Presbyterians  the  doctrine 
of  the  full  and  free  redemption  of  every  human 
soul,  to  be  then  received,  attended  by  a  knowledge 
of  adoption  into  the  family  of  God  through  the 
witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  There,  as  he  opened 
up  these  doctrines,  the  people  rose  to  their  feet, 
pressed  towards  the  speaker,  and  gaped  and  gazed 
as  if  they  regarded  him  as  a  prophet  sent  from 


226  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

God,  with  a  special  revelation  from  heaven  for 
them.  Often  similar  results  attended  the  preach- 
ing of  Asbury  wherever  he  was,  and  Lee  in  New 
England.  The  opposition  they  encountered  and 
the  persecution  they  suffered  originated  not  with 
men  of  the  baser  sort,  but  mostly  from  the 
preachers  and  leading  members  of  the  dominant 
Church.  They  felt  that  the  citadel  of  their  faith 
was  in  danger. 

In  preaching  its  own  doctrine,  assailing  none  ex- 
cept in  self-defense,  Methodism  has  been  a  success. 
It  can  point  to  its  five  millions  of  communicants; 
families  and  adherents  included,  this  number  must 
be  raised  to  thirty  millions.  But  even  then,  the 
measure  of  its  success  is  not  half  told.  Where 
is  there  a  Protestant  Church  to-day  that  preaches 
any  other  than  Methodist  doctrine?  We  know  of 
none.  We  doubt  if  there  is  a  Church  in  America 
which  could  live,  and  hold  together  six  months, 
if  the  staple  of  its  preaching  were  the  peculiari- 
ties of  Calvinism.  There  was  a  time  when  a 
fusilade  from  the  pulpit  and  the  press  was  kept 
up  all  along  the  line  against  Methodist  doctrine; 
but  how  has  it  been  for  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century?  Every  gun  is  silenced,  Calvinism  has 
become  obsolete,  and  Methodist  theology  has  be- 
come the  property  of  all  Protestant  Churches.  A 
greater  moral,  religious,  and  intellectual  triumph 
was  never  achieved  in  the  world's  history.  It  is 
as  if  the  new  wine  had  come  info  contact  with 
the  old,  refused  to  mix,  and  expelled  it. 


THEOLOGY  METHODISTIC.  227 

At  this  writing  a  remarkable  fact  is  occurring 
before  our  eyes.  The  great  and  scholarly  Pres- 
byterian Church  is  getting  down  to  the  business 
of  eliminating  the  doctrine  of  election  and  repro- 
bation, with  all  their  adjuncts,  from  its  Confession 
of  Faith.  And  why  should  the  task  be  in  the 
least  disagreeable?  Why  should  the  present  gen- 
eration, with  its  superior  light,  be  required  to 
carry  the  burden  of  the  errors  and  ignorance  of 
an  age  which  has  long  since  passed  away?  Had 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  the  close  of  the  Rev- 
olutionary War  been  free  from  the  shackles  of  the 
past,  and  possessed  the  spirituality  and  aggressive 
spirit  of  Methodism,  it  probably  would  have  ren- 
dered the  presence  of  Methodism  unnecessary 
and  superfluous.  In  her  present  attempt  to  shuffle 
off  the  cumbrous  past,  we  wish  her  God-speed; 
and  we  prophesy,  if  she  does  this  work,  and  does 
it  thoroughly,  her  future  will  be  crowned  with  far 
greater  success  than  the  past. 

At  this  point  a  more  full  and  systematic  state- 
ment of  the  doctrines  of  Methodism  may  be  de- 
sirable. The  age  of  formal  creed-building  is  past, 
perhaps  never  to  return.  These  monuments  of 
belief,  reared  in  the  past  against  rising  or  prevail- 
ing errors,  are  not  of  such  importance  as  they 
were  in  times  of  intellectual  revolutions.  The 
light  of  the  ubiquitous  press  is  now  blazing  day 
and  night,  and  nothing  can  pass  current  with  the 
people  till  it  has  been  subjected  to  this  testing 
and  purifying  flame.  Avoiding  the  dogmatic 


228  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

terminology  of  creeds,  we  will  present  a  sum- 
mary of  the  more  distinguishing  doctrines  of 
Methodism. 

Accepting  as  true  the  existence  of  God,  no 
affirmative  definition  of  the  Divine  essence  has 
ever  been  attempted.  He  is  the  Creator,  the  Pre- 
server, and  the  Governor  of  the  world.  God,  as 
unchangeable,  is  exactly  what  he  was  before  the 
work  of  creation  began.  In  the  act  of  creating, 
he  did  not  duplicate  or  develop  himself,  or  any  of 
his  attributes ;  but  he  brought  beings  and  things 
into  existence  and  gave  to  each,  from  the  atom  to 
the  archangel,  a  nature,  properties,  and  forces  of 
its  own.  Nature's  forces  and  laws,  as  parts  of  it- 
self, are  exact  expressions  of  the  ever-present 
thoughts,  purposes,  and  will  of  the  Creator.  God's 
power,  wisdom,  and  will  are  ever  in  himself;  their 
handiwork  may  be  seen  in  the  things  created. 
God's  attributes  belong  to  himself  alone,  and  are 
not  transferable;  and  the  properties  of  nature  are 
the  only  expression  it  can  make  of  itself.  God  is 
God,  and  no  part  of  nature. 

Man,  a  mind  of  the  spirit  order,  with  powers 
enlarged  to  infinity,  is  the  only  representation  we 
have  of  the  Divine  Being ;  for  man  alone  was  cre- 
ated in  God's  image  and  after  his  likeness. 

The  Idealistic  and  Pantheistic  conceptions  of 
God,  identifying  him  as  a  part  of  creation,  and 
giving  us  a  God-universe,  form  no  part  of  the  doc- 
trines of  Methodism.  Such  speculations  are 
largely  indulged  in  at  most  literary  centers,  and 


THEOLOGY  METHODISTIC.  229 

not  all  Methodists  are  free  from  their  follies ;  but, 
on  account  of  their  vacuousness  and  manifest  non- 
sense, they  are  regarded  as  harmless. 

Methodism  holds  tenaciously  to  the  divinity 
of  Christ  and  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  Our 
understanding  is  that  the  word  Godhead  is  plural 
in  form  and  plural  in  signification,  and  embraces 
the  distinctions  existing  in  the  Divine  essence  ex- 
pressed by  the  different  meanings  of  the  titles 
Father,  Son,  and  Spirit.  We  can  not  regard  the 
substance  of  the  Divine  Being  as  having  a  uni- 
versal sameness  of  nature.  The  different  attri- 
butes of  God  lead  us  to  infer  that  they  can  not 
spring  from  the  same  unmodified  source.  That 
we  are  not  able  to  perceive  what  the  Divine  es- 
sence is,  or  what  modifications  may  exist  in  it, 
makes  no  difference  with  the  facts.  If  the  Trinity 
is  to  be  received  as  a  revealed  verity,  it  must  be 
regarded  as  an  expression  of  the  constitution  of 
the  Godhead,  and  as  essential  and  eternal.  To 
conceive  of  God  as  a  universal  sameness  of  es- 
sence, it  seems  to  us,  is  to  undeify  him — to  strip 
him  of  perfections  we  ourselves  possess,  and  make 
him  like  one  of  the  material  elements  of  nature. 
If  such  be  the  nature  of  the  Divine  Being,  then 
his  only  primal  power  is  will.  If  he  knows,  it  is 
because  he  wills  to  know  ;  if  he  loves,  it  is  because 
he  wills  to  love ;  if  he  is  ubiquitous,  it  is  because 
he  wills  to  be  everywhere ;  and  if  he,  at  any  mo- 
ment, exists  in  the  form  of  a  trinity  or  unity,  it  is 
because  he  wills  so  to  do.  But  such  is  not  the 


230  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

Methodistic  conception  of  God.  Without  attempt- 
ing to  define  them,  the  Church  holds  that  there 
are  distinctions  of  some  kind  in  the  essence  of  the 
Godhead ;  that  these  serve  as  the  basis  of  the 
Trinity,  designated  by  the  titles  Father,  Son,  and 
Spirit;  and  that  each,  in  its  own  way,  is  self-ex- 
istent, independent,  and  eternal.  The  Father, 
then,  considered  as  separate  from  the  Son  and 
Spirit,  is  not  God;  and  the  Son,  separate  from  the 
Father  and  Spirit,  is  not  God;  and  the  Spirit, 
apart  from  the  Father  and  Son,  is  not  God ;  but 
Father,  Son,  and  Spirit  is  the  God  revealed  in  the 
Bible.  Trinity  in  essence  and  unity  of  constitu- 
tion is  the  Methodistic  conception  of  the  God- 
head. 

As  the  human  mind  is  the  only  thing  which 
God  created  in  his  own  image,  and  after  his  own 
likeness,  it  affords  us  the  only  representation  we 
have  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  The  mind, 
numerically,  is  one ;  and  yet  all  psychologists, 
since  the  days  of  Comte,  note  in  it  the  distinc- 
tions Intellect,  Will,  and  Feeling.  These  three 
departments  possess  nothing  in  common.  In  in- 
tellect all  is  thought,  and  there  is  no  will  nor  feel- 
ing; in  will  there  is  neither  thought  nor  feeling,. 
but  simply  the  power  to  determine  what  action, 
when  a  number  are  possible,  shall  take  place ; 
and  in  feeling  fhere  is  neither  thought  nor  will, 
but  simply  an  emotion.  What  would  mind  be 
without  these  distinctions — all  intellect,  or  all 
will,  or  all  feeling?  What  the  mental  essence  is, 


THEOLOG  Y  ME THODISTIC.  23 1 

no  one  pretends  to  know,  and  how  the  one  dis- 
tinction, per  se,  differs  from  another  is  equally 
mysterious.  The  mind  as  a  unit,  existing  in  a 
trinity  of  distinctions,  is  as  insoluble  a  mystery 
as  the  Trinity  of  the  Godhead. 

To  affirm,  as  Tertullian  did,  that  Christ  is  an 
emanation  from  the  Father,  and  the  Spirit  an  em- 
anation from  the  Father  and  Son,  as  rays  of  light 
from  the  sun,  is  to  deny  them  self-existence,  inde- 
pendence, and  eternity,  and  hence  undeifies  them. 
Instead  of  penetrating  the  facts  as  given  us  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  understanding  them,  many  a  piece 
of  patch-work  has  been  put  forward  at  different 
times  as  expositions  of  the  Trinity ;  and  because 
these  could  not  stand  the  test  of  logic  and  anal- 
ysis, the  doctrine  itself  has  been  rejected. 

The  title  Father  we  associate  particularly 
with  the  work  of  creation,  providence,  and  grace  ; 
the  title  Son  with  brotherhood,  redemption,  and 
mediation ;  and  the  title  Spirit  with  the  work 
of  quickening  dead  souls  into  life  and  comforting 
believers.  As  the  spiritually-born  sons  of  God,  he 
is  our  Father,  and  his  Son  is  our  elder  brother. 
"Here  the  whole  Deity  is  ours."  A  tender  idea 
of  the  family  of  God — a  part  on  earth  and  a  part 
in  heaven  (Eph.  iii,  15) — is  brought  before  the 
mind,  and  serves  the  experienced  believer  as  a 
perpetual  inspiration. 

Methodism  recognizes  man  as  the  last  and  the 
greatest  of  the  works  of  God — as  standing  at  the 
head  of  creation.  The  substance  of  his  body  is 


232          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

no  better  nor  worse  than  the  dust  in  the  street  or 
the  soil  of  a  corn-field.  In  the  body,  matter  is  ex- 
actly what  it  was  before  wrought  into  the  organ- 
ism. In  death,  dust  returns  to  dust  again.  This 
dust  is  not  the  man  proper,  nor  any  part  of  him. 
It  is  simply  the  "house"  or  the  "tabernacle"  in 
which  he  has  a  temporary  residence.  How  this 
body,  with  its  millions  of  organs,  was  wrought 
into  form,  Methodism  has  given  forth  no  deliver- 
ance, regarding  the  question  as  pertaining  to  phi- 
losophy rather  than  theology.  We  affirm  that  in 
creation  a  living  God  created  a  vital  world ;  that 
human  life  is  one  of  its  kinds  or  forms;  and  that 
every  organism,  the  human  body  included,  is  a 
vital  product,  and  is  sustained  by  a  vital  agent. 
Such  body  is  so  correlated  to  this  world  on  the  one 
hand,  and  to  the  indwelling  mind  or  man  on  the 
other,  that  it  is  possible  for  him  to  make  it  (the 
body)  the  place  of  his  temporary  abode. 

In  addition  to  the  powers  or  faculties  man  now 
possesses,  in  the  beginning  he  was  endowed  with 
a  spiritual  nature,  which,  as  God's  image,  adjusted 
his  relation  to  him  and  to  a  spirit  world.  Spirit- 
uality in  him,  at  creation,  was  a  kind  or  form  of 
life  called  spiritual.  As  an  instantaneous  result 
of  transgression,  man  spiritually  died,  and  that 
sin  placed  his  posterity  where  we  now  find  them. 
Christ,  as  a  second  Adam,  came  into  the  world  to 
restore  the  life  each  man  had  lost,  because  of  his 
relation  to  the  first  Adam.  It  is  not  Adam's  guilt 
and  condemnation  that  is  entailed  upon  his  pos- 


THEOLOGY  METHODISTIC.  233 

terity,  but  the  psychical  and  physical  consequences 
of  his  sin.  No  man  suffers  condemnation  except 
on  his  own  account.  There  can  be  no  such  thing 
as  imputed  guilt  or  imputed  righteousness.  Either, 
to  be  real,  must  be  personal.  Christ  is  our  right- 
eousness in  the  sense  that  it  is  possible  for  us  to 
make  him  our  Savior  by  faith.  Faith  in  Christ 
implies  Christ  in  our  faith. 

Man  was  arrested  in  his  fall  by  the  already 
provided  atonement.  Though  spiritually  dead, 
his  capacity  to  be  made  spiritually  alive  remained. 
This  is  the  condition  in  which  we  find  the  human 
race,  infants  included.  They  suffer  the  conse- 
quences of  Adam's  transgression,  but  not  his  guilt 
or  condemnation.  No  infant  ever  saw  the  light  of 
day  which  did  not  draw  its  first  breath  within  the 
sacred  inclosure  of  God's  covenant  of  mercy;  con- 
sequently it  is  safe,  and,  dying  in  that  condition, 
it  is  saved.  As  it  comes  to  years  of  accountabil- 
ity, it  may  break  that  covenant,  depart  from  God, 
and  bring  upon  itself  condemnation.  The  child 
is  entitled  to  baptism,  because  the  ordinance  is  a 
part — the  sign  and  seal — of  the  covenant  within 
which  it  was  born.  The  virtue  of  the  covenant 
is  not  in  its  sign  and  seal,  but  in  the  Christ,  "  the 
seed,"  its  center  and  soul.  The  crude  notion  that 
the  child  is  baptized  into  the  covenant  is  a  relic  of 
Romanism,  invented  as  a  matter  of  merchandise, 
and  the  devil  never  invented  a  more  effectual 
means  of  bringing  into  the  Church  unregenerate 
souls,  and  cheating  them  out  of  their  salvation, 


234          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

than  the  empty  dogma  of  infant  baptismal  regen- 
eration. Baptism  is  not  a  regenerating  force — 
that  is  the  work  of  the  Spirit — but  it  is  simply 
the  sign  and  seal  of  a  covenant  of  grace.  For  these 
reasons  Methodism  recognizes  the  validity  of  in- 
fant baptism,  and  the  salvation  of  all  infants  dying 
in  infancy. 

As  we  have  repeatedly  seen,  Methodism  holds 
that  the  central  doctrine  of  practical  or  applied 
Christianity  is  the  spiritual  regeneration  of  the 
soul,  attended  by  repentance,  humiliation,  and 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Its  views  in  this  respect 
are  radical,  based  on  unchangeable  facts,  and 
hence  they  are  incapable  of  modification.  It 
holds  that,  because  of  his  descent  from  fallen 
Adam,  man  is  spiritually  dead,  and  that  regener- 
ation consists  in  being  made  spiritually  alive 
through  Christ,  the  second  Adam ;  that  the  iden- 
tical form  or  kind  of  life  he  lost  by  the  first  Adam 
in  essence  is  restored  by  the  second.  Richard 
Watson,  our  greatest  theologian,  clearly  sets  forth 
these  views  of  conversion  in  both  his  "Institutes" 
and  "Sermons." 

When  man's  spiritual  nature  is  in  the  as- 
cendant, taking  on  the  form  of  love — supreme 
love  to  God  and  equal  love  to  man — all  the  other 
powers  of  the  soul  are  subservient  to  it.  This  is 
the  psychological  aspect  of  the  Methodist  idea  of 
the  doctrine  of  sanctification.  As  differs  the 
mental  structure  of  people,  so  differ  their  expe- 
riences in  the  religious  life.  No  one  person  can 


THEOLOGY  METHODIST  1C.  235 

be  made  a  standard  or  guide  for  another  except  in 
results. 

The  assurance  of  conversion  and  sanctification 
by  the  united  testimony  of  our  spirit  and  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  has  ever  held  a  precious  and  con- 
spicuous place  in  the  doctrines  of  Methodism. 
Once  this  doctrine  was  held  by  other  Churches  to 
be  a  strange  and  pestilent  heresy;  but  the  Chris- 
tian world  has  moved  forward  in  the  right  direc- 
tion, and  long  since  the  controversy  in  regard  to  it 
came  to  a  happy  conclusion.  Now  the  witness  of 
the  Spirit  is  regarded  by  all  evangelical  Churches 
as  the  privilege  of  believers. 

During  nearly  a  century,  the  Methodist  doc- 
trine of  a  full  and  free  salvation  for  all  men  was 
arrayed  in  a  sharp  conflict  with  the  dogmas  of  a 
limited  atonement,  election,  decrees,  reprobation, 
effectual  calling,  etc.  All  along  this  line  great  de- 
bates were  held  by  their  champions,  and  Meth- 
odist ministers  never  shrank  from  the  conflict. 
From  mountain,  hill-top,  and  through  every  val- 
ley the  tidings  ran  that  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  grace 
of  God,  had  tasted  death  for  every  man. 

Closely  connected  with  the  doctrine  of  a  free 
salvation  is  the  dogma  of  free  will,  or  human  lib- 
erty. Methodism  found  the  doctrine  of  necessity 
intrenched  in  the  current  philosophy  and  theology 
of  the  world.  In  order  to  success,  this  citadel  of 
error  must  be  taken.  It  was  assailed,  sapped,  and 
mined  till  it  fell.  Human  liberty,  as  the  basis  of 
responsibility,  is  now  recognized  by  all  evangel- 


236          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

ical  Churches.  In  this  respect,  Methodist  psychol- 
ogy has  rescued  the  world  from  the  iron  grip  of 
fate,  and  brought  man  face  to  face  with  his  re- 
sponsibilities. 

It  is  easy  to  show  that  motives  are,  in  fact, 
considerations  addressed  to  the  judgment,  and 
that  they  do  not  directly  touch  the  will ;  and  that 
the  nature  of  the  will  is  made  clear  and  transpar- 
ent by  the  expulsion  from  the  discussion  of  the 
word  "choice,"  as  it  often  expresses  an  intellect- 
ual preference,  which,  in  most  cases,  comes  under 
the  law  of  necessity.  Edwards's  great  work  on 
the  will  has  become  obsolete,  and  Whedon,  Bled- 
soe,  and  others  hold  the  field. 

The  all-inspiring  doctrine  of  the  Reformation, 
justification  by  faith,  is  one  of  the  central  truths 
of  doctrinal  Methodism.  In  theory,  and  to  some 
extent,  it  has  ever  been  held  by  all  Protestant 
bodies;  but  Methodism  gave  to  it  an  emphasis 
and  practical  power  it  had  not  known  since  the 
apostolic  age.  It  was  made  to  appear,  as  tested 
by  daily  experience,  that  the  initial  and  basal 
virtue  of  the  human  heart  was  faith,  trust,  or  con- 
fidence. In  this  respect,  the  same  law  holds  in 
both  heaven  and  earth. 

Such  are  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Meth- 
odism. They  have  been  tested  by  use,  experience, 
and  in  the  white-hot  fires  of  debate,  during  the 
past  hundred  years,  and  remain  unchanged.  Prac- 
tically unchallenged,  they  stand  to-day  as  the  faith 
of  Christendom.  There  are  other  doctrines,  such 


THEOLOGY  METHODISTIC.  237 

as  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  a  general  judg- 
ment, the  future  destiny  of  the  wicked,  the  Sab- 
bath, the  written  Word — Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments— inspiration,  baptism,  the  sacraments,  etc., 
which  Methodism  holds  in  common  with  other 
evangelical  denominations,  and  we  deem  it  unnec- 
essary to  mention  them  here. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that,  in  the  midst  of 
the  multitude  of  changes  which  have  character- 
ized the  religious  world  during  the  last  century, 
there  has  been  no  change  in  Methodist  doctrine. 
In  England  and  America,  India  and  Africa,  China 
and  Japan,  and  everywhere,  the  one  faith  pre- 
vails— not  as  'the  result  of  authority,  but  of  the 
freedom  of  debate  and  honest  conviction. 


"  4f  OR  the  planting  of  great  Christian  truths  deep  in  the 
C-"  heart  of  an  awakened  people,  let  us  have  John  Wesley's 
tongue  of  fire,  seconded  by  Charles  Wesley's  hymns,  floating 
heavenward  on  the  twilight  air  from  ten  thousand  Methodist 
voices.  Under  such  conditions  Methodism  is  inspired.  To 
know  what  Methodist  voices  are  under  inspiration,  one  must 
hear  them.  Mobs,  bellowing  with  infuriated  blood-thirst, 
which  neither  John  Wesley's  coal-black  eye  nor  Whitefield's 
imperial  voice  could  quell,  have  been  known  to  turn  and  ^sliuk 
away  when  the  truth  was  sung  at  them  in  Charles  Wesley's 
hymns.  Their  ring-leaders,  more  than  once,  broke  down  in 
tears  and  groans  of  remorse.  They  took  the  preacher  by  the 
hand,  and  went  his  way  with  him,  arm  in  arm,  swearing  by  all 
that  is  holy  that  not  a  hair  of  his  head  should  be  touched. 
Thus  was  Luther's  saying  verified  anew :  '  The  devil  can  stand 
anything  but  good  music,  and  that  makes  him  roar.'" 

238  — PHEWS. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

METHODISM  IN  THE  HYMNS  OF  THE  SANCTUARY. 

MUSIC  and  song,  in  the  services  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, never  occupied  a  more  conspicuous 
place  than  at  the  present  time ;  and  the  object  of 
this  chapter  is  simply  to  call  attention  to  the  part 
Methodism  has  taken  in  providing  for  this  arm  of 
Church  efficiency. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  easily  explained  how- 
ever, that  American  Methodism  has  done  almost 
nothing  to  provide  for  itself  a  hymnology.  Will- 
iam Hunter  has  given  us  a  few  social  songs,  which 
still  take  rank  as  the  best  of  their  class.  Some 
of  them  have  been  translated  into  heathen  lan- 
guages, set  to  native  music,  and  sung  around  the 
world ;  but  this  sweet-spirited  man,  as  he  says, 
never  aspired  to  the  dignity  of  a  hymn-writer. 
It  took  a  great  deal  of  use,  and  some  damaging 
alterations  by  book-makers,  to  wear  out  "Joyfully, 
joyfully,  onward  I  move,"  "  My  heavenly  home  is 
bright  and  fair,"  and  some  others. 

It  seems  that  a  feeling  of  despair  has  appalled 
the  poetic  genius  of  all  our  great  men  in  the 
presence  of  the  hymns  of  Charles  Wesley.  In 
the  pulpit,  as  flames  of  fire,  they  could  mount  and 
soar,  and  sway  their  audiences  as  moral  cyclones; 

239 


240  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

but  this  rare  ability  enabled  them  to  comprehend 
the  fact  that  the  name  of  Charles  Wesley  so  filled 
the  horizon  of  sacred  poesy  that  the  flight  of 
their  muse  could  not  be  a  success.  And  then 
they  felt  that  the  best  hymnology  in  the  world 
was  furnished  at  their  hands,  and  that  nothing 
more  was  desired. 

The  fact  is,  the  hymns  of  Wesley  came  from  a 
furnace  of  spiritual  enthusiasm,  in  which  he  lived 
for  many  years,  and  we  do  not  see  that  they  can 
ever  be  surpassed.  To  be  a  Wesley  was  to  be  a 
rhymer;  and  as  a  soldier  or  sailor,  or  a  lumber- 
man, Wesley  would  have  given  verses  of  a  high 
order  to  the  world.  The  poetic  fire  was  in  him, 
and  it  must  burn  and  flash  out  in  some  direction. 

But  Charles  Wesley  was  first  and  deepest  in 
the  spiritual  upheaving  which,  during  the  eight- 
eenth century,  was  felt  throughout  England,  Ire- 
land, and  Scotland.  He  was  always  at  the  front, 
standing  on  the  crest  of  the  highest  wave  that 
rolled,  exposed  to  every  danger,  endured  the 
greatest  privations,  and  performed  the  severest 
toil.  His  personal  religious  experience  was  deep- 
ened by  every  conflict  with  evil,  crime,  and  with 
the  powers  of  darkness.  The  fight  of  faith  and 
its  victories,  for  many  years,  was  the  life  he  lived. 
Often  he  wrestled  like  a  Jacob,  and  triumphed  like 
an  Israel.  As  a  faithful  and  successful  minister, 
a  large  part  of  his  life  was  spent  with  weeping, 
broken-hearted  penitents ,  who  were  crying : 
"What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?"  His  own  deep 


ME THODISM  IN  HYMNS.  24 1 

and  bitter  experience  with  unbelief  gave  him  the 
key  to  their  situation,  and  he  was  able  to  render 
them  the  assistance  they  needed.  He  thus  be- 
came familiar  with  the  heart-experience  of  a  mul- 
titude of  people,  and  it  was  from  this  perennial 
fountain  he  drew  in  writing  his  hymns.  As  heart 
answers  to  the  heart  of  man,  he  found  in  his  own 
experience,  in  some  form  and  in  some  degree, 
whatever  he  came  in  contact  with  in  the  hearts 
of  others.  This  gave  to  his  being,  and  to  his 
knowledge  of  both  nature  and  grace,  a  mighty  ex- 
pansion. In  living  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of 
God,  he  also  lived  the  life  of  regenerated  human- 
ity; and  its  different  phases — their  heights  and 
depths — find  expression  in  his  hymns.  As  a 
rhymer,  we  regard  Watts  as  superior  to  Wesley, 
and  had  his  nature  and  genius  been  subjected  to 
the  fiery  baptisms  through  which  the  latter  passed, 
he  would  probably  have  been  superior  to  him  as  a 
hymn-writer.  And  yet  this  is  not  so  certain. 
Wesley  was  a  psychologist;  Watts  was  not.  No 
man  of  his  age — not  even  Hume — surpassed  him 
in  ability  to  trace  out  and  read  the  workings  of 
the  human  heart.  In  this  respect  he  held  the 
advantage  of  Watts.  Watts  could  describe  the 
facts  of  life;  Wesley  could  personify  and  make 
nature  speak  out  from  its  most  secret  depths. 
Watts  could  carry  the  gospel  objectively  to  the 
people ;  Wesley  could  follow  it  out  in  its  effects 
upon  the  interior  life,  and  clothe  these  effects  in 
all  their  heavenly  beauty.  Watts  was  the  poet  of 

21 


242  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

intellect,  thought,  and  sentiment;  Wesley,  in  addi- 
tion to  all  these,  was  the  poet  of  the  soul,  sound- 
ing the  depths  of  religious  passion.  James  Mar- 
tineau  holds  him  as  the  peerless  hymn-writer. 

Let  the  following  hymn  serve  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  Wesley's  spontaneous  psychological  pene- 
tration of  human  experience.  He  was  riding 
along  the  way,  and  happening  to  look  off  to  his 
right,  saw  people  engaged  in  horse-racing.  He 
allowed  himself  for  a  moment  to  become  inter- 
ested in  what  was  going  oh.  After  he  had  passed 
he  found  that  he  did  not  feel  exactly  right — his 
conscience  had  received  a  wound.  The  hymn  be- 
ginning as  follows  was  the  result : 

"How  shall  a  lost  sinner  in  pain 
Recover  his  forfeited  peace  ? 
When  brought  into  bondage  again, 
What  hope  of  a  second  release  ?" 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  hymn,  as  well 
as  some  others  of  Wesley's,  was  excluded  from 
our  present  Hymnal. 

Could  the  hymns  of  Wesley  be  understood 
historically — could  we  see  the  fountain  and  the 
occasion  from  which  they  gushed — their  scope 
and  peculiar  significance  would  be  better  under- 
stood. On  his  clear  conversion  he  was  visited 
with  the  delusion  that  the  blessing  was  personal, 
peculiar,  and  that  he  must  say  nothing  about  it 
to  others.  After  a  few  days  he  learned  his  mis- 
take ;  but,  in  the  meantime,  the  pent-up  fires  had 
been  burning,  and  from  that  inward  furnace  came 


METHODISM  IN  HYMNS.  243 

a  hymn  that  has  been  sung  around  the  world  by 
millions  of  people: 

"  O  for  a  thousand  tongues,  to  sing 

My  great  Redeemer's  praise ; 
The  glories  of  my  God  and  King, 
The  triumphs  of  his  grace ! 

My  gracious  Master,  and  my  God, 

Assist  me  to  proclaim — 
To  spread,  through  all  the  earth  abroad, 

The  honors  of  thy  name. 


He  breaks  the  power  of  canceled  sin, 

He  sets  the  prisoner  free; 
His  blood  can  make  the  foulest  clean ; 

His  blood  availed  for  me. 

Hear  him,  ye  deaf;  his  praise,  ye  dumb, 

Your  loosened  tongues  employ;    '  **•!  f' 
Ye  blind,  behold  your  Savior  come;^  t 

And  leap,  ye  lame,  for  joy!" 

"rfi31  3ff» 

As  a  bugle-call — a  real  trumpet-blast — nothing 
superior  to  this  was  ever  written.  It  sounds  as  if 
the  spirit  and  power  of  Isaiah  or  Elijah  were 
marching  forth  in  modern  times  set  to  modern 
music.  As  sung  at  camp-meetings  by  the  con- 
gregation, when  a  thousand  voices  united  to  swell 
the  chorus,  it  has  seemed  as  if  heaven  and 
earth  were  very  near  together  and  their  songs 
were  one. 

Wesley  not  only  took  a  great  interest  in  the 
life  of  his  members  and  societies,  but  he  was 
anxious  to  have  them  conquerors  at  last — to  take  a 
triumphant  exit  from  this  world  into  the  next. 
After  much  observation  among  his  people,  seeing 


244          OUR  CO UNTR  Y  AND  ME THODISM. 

and  hearing  all  he  could  in  regard  to  their  lives 
and  character,  he  says:  "Well,  let  the  world  say 
what  it  may  about  us,  one  thing  is  certain,  our 
people  die  well."  Thus  the  sick-room  and  the 
chamber  of  the  dying  were  made  by  the  Wesleys 
places  of  the  most  interesting  study.  The  poetic 
genius  of  Charles  Wesley  did  not  forsake  him  on 
these  occasions.  In  his  "  Life  of  John  Wesley," 
Southey  says  that  the  hymns  of  Charles,  even  in 
his  own  day,  were  more  devoutly  committed  to 
memory,  and  oftener  repeated  upon  a  death-bed, 
than  those  of  any  other  writer.  The  hymn  be- 
ginning, "Shrinking  from  the  cold  hand  of  death," 
is  an  honest  confession,  as  every  one  experiences, 
that  death  is  unnatural  and  terrible ;  but,  in  a  mo- 
ment, he  lifts  the  sufferer,  in  his  own  person,  into 
the  realm  of  spirituality  and  faith,  where 

"No  anxious  doubt,  no  guilty  gloom 

Shall  damp  whom  Jesus'  presence  cheers; 
My  Light,  my  Life,  my  God  is  come, 
And  glory  in  his  face  appears." 

Among  his  favorite  hymns  of  this  class  are 
these:  "If  death  my  friends  and  me  divide;" 
"Servant  of  God,  well  done ;"  "And  am  I  born  to 
die?"  "Happy  soul,  thy  days  are  ended!"  "Weep 
not  for  a  brother  deceased;"  "How  happy  every 
child  of  grace!"  "Come,  let  us  join  our  friends 
above;"  "Away  with  our  sorrow  and  fear!"  "I 
long  to  behold  him  arrayed;"  "Who  are  these  ar- 
rayed in  white?" 

But  it  is  not  in  this  field  of  thought  and  ex- 


METHODISM  IN  HYMNS.  245 

perience  that  Wesley  was  at  his  best.  He  knew 
more  of  life  than  of  death,  and  his  experience  of 
the  depths  of  sin,  penitence,  and  grace  was  more 
perfect  than  his  knowledge  of  the  blessed  of 
heaven.  At  best,  of  that  land  we  can  know  only 
in  part,  and  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly. 

Charles  Wesley  was  never  more  the  sacred 
lyrist  than  when  probing  the  heart  of  unregener- 
ate  man,  and  leading  it  to  faith  in  the  Savior  of 
sinners.  This,  as  the  central  truth  of  Methodism, 
was  never  long  at  a  time  absent  from  his  mind. 
To  save  the  lost,  and  to  call  sinners,  not  the  right- 
eous, to  repentance,  was  his  great  aim  and  object. 
He  needed  no  evidence  of  human  depravity  ex- 
cept that  of  his  own  consciousness.  The  genius  of 
his  great  commission,  as  he  understood  it,  is  beau- 
tifully expressed  in  the  proclamation  hymn: 

"  Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow 

The  gladly  solemn  sound  I 
Let  all  the  nations  know, 

To  earth's  remotest  bound, 
The  year  of  jubilee  is  come; 
Return,  ye  ransomed  sinners,  home.** 

The  dark  and  obdurate  heart  finds  in  Wesley  a 
true  interpreter  of  the  feelings  which  are  so 
strange  and  new  to  him: 

"Hearts  of  stone,  relent,  relent! 

Break,  by  Jesus'  cross  subdued; 
See  his  mangled  body  rent, 

Covered  with  his  flowing  blood ! 
Sinful  soul,  what  hast  thou  done? 
Crucified  the  Eternal  Son !" 


246          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

The  English  language  contains  no  hymn  that, 
in  depth  of  meaning,  variety  of  expression,  and 
evangelical  spirit,  can  be  compared  to  the  one  be- 
ginning, "Arise,  my  soul,  arise!"  Without  doubt, 
thousands  of  souls  have  been  conducted  by  that 
song  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  Satan's 
power  unto  God.  Each  verse  is  a  sermon  in  it- 
self, appropriate  to  the  work  in  hand. 

Wesley's  ability  to  lose  himself  in  the  object 
of  his  solicitude,  and  interpret  the  feelings  of  a 
soul  that  is  sinking  in  despair,  may  be  most  strik- 
ingly seen  in  the  half-frantic  lyric: 

"  Depth  of  mercy,  can  there  be 
Mercy  still  reserved  for  me  ? 
Can  my  God  his  wrath  forbear — • 
Me,  the  chief  of  sinners,  spare?" 

With  every  verse  the  scene  changes,  and,  as  a 
whole,  the  hymn  is  very  dramatic  in  its  effect. 

Wesley's  hymns  on  perfect  love,  or  sanctifica- 
tion,  as  a  class,  stand  alone  in  the  world.  Here 
he  reached  a  height  and  a  depth  of  Christian  ex- 
perience which  have  never  been  equaled.  The 
difference  between  him  and  Watts  may  be  seen  by 
comparing  a  hymn  of  one  with  a  hymn  of  the 
other  touching  the  same  subject: 

WATTS  :    "  Could  we  but  climb  where  Moses  stood, 

And  view  the  landscape  o'er, 
Not  Jordan's  stream,  nor  death's  cold  flood, 
Should  fright  us  from  the  shore." 

:  "The  promised  land,  from  Pisgah's  top, 

I  now  exult  to  see; 
My  hope  is  full ;  O  glorious  hope 
Of  immortality!" 


METHODISM  IN  HYMNS.  247 

WATTS :    "  When  shall  I  reach  that  happy  place, 

And  be  forever  blest? 
When  shall  I  see  my  Father's  face, 
And  in  his  bosom  rest?" 

WESLEY  :  "  O  joyful  sound  of  gospel  grace ! 

Christ  shall  in  me  appear; 
I,  even  I,  shall  see  his  face — 
I  shall  be  holy  here !" 

Probably  the  muse  of  Wesley  never  reached 
its  highest  flight  but  once,  and  that  was  in  his 
interpretation  of  Jacob  wrestling  with  the  angel. 
Here  his  psychological  proclivities  served  him  the 
highest  purpose.  At  first  the  angel  was  an  incar- 
nation of  infinite  power,  of  unknown  purposes. 
Fear,  dread,  and  awe  came  upon  him  ;  but  he  pre- 
ferred to  perish  there  rather  than  by  the  hand  of 
his  injured  and  infuriated  brother.  Twenty  years 
had  passed  away  since  the  sin  was  committed, 
but  condemnation  was  still  upon  him  unchanged, 
and  there  was  no  help  unless  found  in  that  awful 
Presence.  Spirit  wrestled  with  spirit,  and,  in  its 
infinite  depths,  the  penitent  man  found  the  needed 
blessing.  The  following  verses  are  of  surpassing 
beauty  and  power.  Their  bold  blending  of  the 
human  and  divine  has  never  been  equaled  in 
thought  or  better  expressed  in  words: 

"I  need  not  tell  thee  who  I  am, 
My  sin  and  misery  declare ; 

Thyself  hast  called  me  by  my  name- 
Look  on  thy  hands  and  read  it  there. 

But  who,  I  ask  thee,  who  art  thou  ? 

Tell  me  thy  name,  and  tell  it  now. 


248          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

My  prayer  hath  power  with  God ;  the  grace 

Unspeakable  I  now  receive ; 
Through  faith  I  see  thee  face  to  face — 

I  see  thee  face  to  face,  and  live ! 
In  vain  I  have  not  wept  and  strove— 
Thy  nature  and  thy  name  is  love." 

But  some  good  judges  are  of  the  opinion  that, 
had  John  Wesley  been  as  free  from  the  care  of 
the  Churches  as  Charles,  he  would  have  been  the 
greater  poet  and  hymn-writer.  The  hymn  be- 
ginning 

"  Must  I,  for  fear  of  feeble  man, 
The  Spirit's  course  in  me  restrain? 
Or,  undismayed  in  deed  and  word, 
Be  a  true  witness  of  my  I/ord?" 

is  deep,  nervous,  dramatic,  and  all  aglow  with  en- 
thusiasm. It  breathes  the  martial  spirit,  softened 
and  chastened  by  the  charities  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  Wesley  had  passed  through  some  terrible 
experiences  with  beastly  mobs,  and  this  hymn  was 
the  result  of  preparation  and  prayer  to  renew  the 
conflict. 

It  may  be  thought  we  have  exaggerated  the 
value  of  Mr.  Wesley's  hymns,  and  the  testimony 
of  an  independent  witness  may  be  acceptable. 
The  Presbyterian  Quarterly  for  March,  1858,  says: 

"We  regard  it  as  a  great  loss  to  the  Presby- 
terian Churches  of  our  country  that  so  few,  com- 
paratively, of  Charles  Wesley's  hymns  should 
have  been  admitted  into  their  collections.  It  may 
not  be  generally  known  that,  not  even  excepting 
Dr.  Watts,  he  is  the  most  voluminous  of  all  our 


METHODISM  IN  HYMNS.  249 

lyrical  authors,  and  it  were  only  justice  to  add 
that  he  is  the  most  equal.  .  .  .  We  have 
never  read  or  sung  a  finer  specimen  than  his  well- 
known  paraphrase  of  the  Twenty-fourth  Psalm: 
'Our  Lord  is  risen  from  the  dead,'  etc.  There  is 
another  objective  hymn  by  Charles  Wesley  which 
is  among  the  finest  in  the  language.  We  wonder 
that  it  has  not  found  its  way  into  American  hymn- 
books:  'Stand  the  omnipotent  decree,'  etc.  Well 
has  this  hymn  been  spoken  of  as  being  in  a  strain 
more  than  human.  There  is  the  noble  hymn  by 
Charles  Wesley,  'Jacob  wrestling  with  the  angel,' 
concerning  which  Dr.  Watts  did  not  scruple  to  say 
that  it  was  worth  all  the  verses  he  himself  had 
written.  James  Montgomery  declares  it  to  be 
among  the  poet's  highest  achievements.  Never 
have  we  read  a  finer  combination  of  poetic  taste 
and  evangelical  sentiment." 

Wesley's  hymns,  in  part,  were  brought  to 
America  by  Captain  Webb,  Robert  Strawbridge, 
and  Barbara  Heck,  and  the  value  attached  to 
them  was  second  only  to  the  Scriptures  and  Wes- 
ley's Sermons.  They  contained  so  clear  an  expo- 
sition of  the  different  phases  of  Christian  experi- 
ence that  verse  after  verse  has  been  read  and 
applied  in  the  same  way  as  proof-texts  of  Scrip- 
ture are  used.  They  therefore  became  indigenous 
to  American  Methodism.  From  the  beginning 
the  gospel  was  not  only  preached  by  consecrated, 
mighty  men,  but  was  sung  in  strains  as  sweet  and 
pure  as  ever  fell  from  mortal  lips.  One  thing 


250  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

about  Wesley's  hymns — they  can  never  be  changed 
but  for  the  worse.  Some  blockheads  have  dab- 
bled with  the  hymn  "Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul," 
and  in  every  case  the  poetic  spirit  has  been  sacri- 
ficed for  the  dullest  prose. 

If  Toplady's  "Rock  of  Ages"  is  the  most  pop- 
ular hymn  now  in  use,  it  is  such  because  the  work 
of  many  hands  has  been  expended  upon  it.  Some 
verses  have  been  thrown  out,  and  others  altered 
for  the  better.  This  hymn  has  a  history  analo- 
gous to  Pope's  "Vital  spark  of  heavenly  flame." 
The  central  ideas  of  that  hymn  first  flashed  out 
from  the  brain  of  Pascal  in  poetic  prose,  and  by 
different  authors  assumed  many  forms,  till  Pope 
got  hold  of  it,  and  his  last  touches  gave  it  to  us 
as  we  have  it  now.  In  the  Methodist  Hymn-book 
we  find  about  three  hundred  of  Wesley's  hymns, 
and  we  will  venture  the  assertion  that  two  hun- 
dred of  them  can  be  selected  which  will  far  sur- 
pass in  pathos,  power,  and  evangelical  sentiment, 
an  equal  number  from  any  other  author  living  or 
that  ever  lived. 

Drawing  from  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
New,  in  the  light  of  the  inspiring  revival-work  in 
which  he  was  absorbed,  Wesley  has  given  us 
hymns  on  every  phase  of  the  Christian  life,  and  in 
every  department  of  Christian  doctrine.  A  com- 
plete systenf  of  theology  can  be  drawn  from  these 
sacred  lyrics.  Nobler  conceptions  of  God  were 
never  written  than  compose  the  hymn  beginning 
"Stand  the  omnipotent  decree."  Christ,  his  di- 


ME  T HOD  ISM  IN  HYMNS.  2  5 1 

vinity,  his  incarnation,  his  life,  death,  resurrection, 
ascension,  priesthood,  and  intercessions,  are  pre- 
sented, not  only  in  all  the  glow  of  poetic  fervor, 
but  with  theological  exactness.  The  hymn  "Our 
Lord  is  risen  from  the  dead,"  is  Christ  bursting 
the  bands  of  death,  and  coming  forth  the  mighty 
Conqueror  before  our  eyes.  The  themes  Sin  and 
Depravity  have  perhaps  been  as  well  handled  by 
others  as  by  Wesley;  but  for  the  purpose  of 
awakening  the  sinner,  the  trumpet-tones  of  this 
man  will  never  die.  To  the  doctrines  of  justifi- 
cation by  faith,  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  and 
sanctification,  he  has,  in  his  own  person,  given 
the  force  and  beauty  of  a  living  reality.  These 
doctrines  breathe  and  talk  and  rejoice  before  our 
eyes,  because  they  were  incarnate  in  the  author. 
In  Watson's  Institutes  we  find  them  clothed  in 
logic  as  a  frame-work  of  fact  and  principles;  in 
Wesley,  they  are  animate  with  life,  and  we  hear 
them  speak.  The  most  of  these  hymns  were  in 
book-form  in  England  before  they  were  needed  in 
this  country;  and  as  Methodism  appeared,  they 
were  at  hand,  and  the  impression  they  produced 
was  scarcely  less  than  that  of  the  old,  but  now 
apparently  new,  theology. 

If  the  influence  of  Methodist  theology  on  the 
minds  of  scholarly  theologians  has  surpassed  that 
of  its  hymns,  the  influence  of  its  hymns  has  sur- 
passed its  theology  with  the  masses.  As  acces- 
sories to  the  devotional  wants  of  the  people,  they 
have  been  all  that  could  be  desired.  At  the  sac- 


252  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

rament,  at  the  altar  of  prayer,  in  the  devotional 
service,  and  the  chamber  of  the  sick  and  the  dy- 
ing, they  have  been  an  inspiration  and  a  balm  to 
the  hearts  of  millions. 

Amidst  the  countless  doctrinal  divisions  which 
have  separated  Christian  people,  nothing,  in  this 
respect,  has  ever  been  able  to  divide  the  Meth- 
odist family.  The  twelve  or  fifteen  different 
Methodist  bodies  which  exist  in  the  world  are 
doctrinally  one — the  divisions  have  all  taken 
place  on  other  lines.  This  is  one  of  the  grandest 
facts  of  Methodist  history.  It  evinces  that  the 
doctrines  are  so  Scriptural  and  rational  that  they 
enforce  belief  wherever  known  and  understood; 
also,  that  they  have  always  been  thoroughly 
understood  by  the  people.  Go  where  you  may, 
in  the  city  or  country,  among  the  high  or  low,  or 
go  among  our  missions,  whether  among  the  Ger- 
mans or  Scandinavians  or  in  foreign  lands — China, 
Japan,  Africa,  or  India — Methodist  doctrine  is  the 
same.  In  this  respect  the  gospel  trumpet  gives 
no  uncertain  sound. 

This  remarkable  phenomenon  is  accounted  for 
on  the  ground  that  the  doctrines  of  the  Church 
have  ever  been  thoroughly  incorporated  in  the 
songs  the  people  sing.  As  the  flowers  uncon- 
sciously absorb  the  sunlight,  so  the  vast  Meth- 
odist heart,  through  the  hymns  of  its  Zion,  has 
become  lovingly  saturated  and  sanctified  by  its 
pure  Arminian  theology. 

If,  then,  God  gave  Methodism  to  America,  to 


METHODISM  IN  HYMNS.  253 

act  upon  the  new  Republic  as  "new  wine  acts 
upon  a  new  bottle,"  its  hymnology  must  be  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  inspiring 
elements  of  its  strength.  And  surely,  both  its 
theology  and  hymns  have  captured  the  country, 
and  become  the  common  property  of  all 
Churches. 


"  <3l  SSOCIATIONS  are  forming  in  many  places  to  give  no 
£?  spirits  at  the  ensuing  harvest.  The  Quakers  and  Meth- 
odists take  the  lead  in  these  associations,  as  they  have  often 
done  in  all  enterprises  that  have  morality  or  the  happiness  of 
society  for  their  object." 

— BEI.KNAP  PAPERS,  quoted  by  Dorchester. 
254 


CHAPTER  XII. 

METHODISM  AS  THE  INITIATOR  OE  NATIONAL  TEM- 
PERANCE REFORMATION. 

IT  is  probable  that  the  greatest  single  evil  which 
has  ever  afflicted  American  society  is  the  use 
of  intoxicating  drinks.  It  was  rooted  in  the  Col- 
onies, it  grew  rankly  during  the  Revolutionary 
War,  and  since  then  it  has  spread  its  baneful 
branches  to  every  part  of  the  country.  The  Pres- 
ident and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States  are 
its  patrons,  and  it  exists  everywhere,  in  high 
places  and  low.  The  enormous  sum  of  $900,- 
000,000  is  expended  annually  to  imbrute  and  de- 
grade American  society.  A  few,  for  the  purposes 
of  wealth,  pander  to  the  appetites  of  the  many, 
and  thus  the  enormous  evil  is  perpetuated. 

Why  in  the  past  has  it  been  allowed  to  exist, 
and  why  does  not  the  Nation  arise  in  its  strength 
and  put  an  end  to  the  monster  in  less  time  than  a 
year?  The  answer  to  this  question  may  be  found 
in  the  terrible  and  lamentable  fact  that  the  friends 
and  bulwarks  of  virtue  have  betrayed  their  trust, 
and  been  wanting  in  the  hour  of  need.  During 
the  past  few  months,  the  States  of  Michigan,  Texas, 
Massachusetts,  Tennessee,  Pennsylvania,  and  New 
Hampshire  have  declared,  by  a  popular  vote,  that 
the  presence  and  free  flow  of  liquor  was  desirable 

255 


256          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM 

iii  those  States.  Of  course  the  manufacturers 
and  dealers  in  liquor,  and  the  drinkers  of  the  in- 
toxicating cup,  were  pleased  with  the  results  of 
these  elections.  Let  us  see  from  whence  their 
victory  came. 

Francis  Murphy,  the  most  popular  temperance 
orator  of  the  Nation  since  the  death  of  Gough  in 
Pennsylvania  opposed  prohibition;  the  New  York 
Christian  Union  and  the  Congregationalist,  the 
leading  papers  published  by  the  Congregational 
Church,  carrying  with  them  the  sentiments  and 
influencing  the  action  of  at  least  half  that  Church, 
opposed  prohibition.  Phillips  Brooks,  the  most 
able  and  popular  minister  in  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  was  active  and  energetic  in  opposi- 
tion to  prohibition  in  Massachusetts,  and  his  ex- 
ample was  followed  by  at  least  two-thirds  of  the 
clergy  and  laity  of  that  denomination  in  the  same 
direction.  Howard  Crosby,  late  deceased,  one  of 
the  ablest  ministers  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
was  a  zealous  opponent  of  the  policy  of  putting 
an  end  to  the  liquor-traffic,  and  he  led  the  minor- 
ity of  that  Church  on  this  question  against  prohi- 
bition. At  least  four-fifths  of  the  clergy  and  laity 
of  the  Lutheran  Church — a  large  denomination, 
and  strong  among  the  German  population — favor 
the  continuance  of  the  liquor-traffic  and  vote 
against  prohibition. 

The  power  of  the  papacy  in  this  country,  said 
to  be  seven  or  eight  million  strong,  is  almost 
unanimously  in  favor  of  the  liquor  business.  A 


THE  TEMPERANCE  REFORMATION.        257 

large  number  of  the  members  of  that  corporation 
are  engaged  in  the  business.  Whatever  of  influ- 
ence that  body  possesses  is  given  for  the  support 
of  the  evil.  The  exceptions  are  so  few  that  they 
are  conspicuous  and  appear  noble. 

So  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain  the  sen- 
timents and  action  of  the  Baptist  Church,  it  has, 
in  every  case,  been  on  the  side  of  prohibition  and 
of  the  virtue  of  the  Nation. 

What  do  these  facts  indicate?  Either  that 
Methodists  are  wholly  mistaken  in  regard  to  the 
extent  of  the  evils  of  intemperance,  or  that  in  the 
persons  and  religious  bodies  referred  to  there  is  a 
low  tone  of  moral  sentiment.  The  first  we  can 
not  believe,  and  the  latter  baffles  all  our  attempts 
at  an  explanation.  We  think  special  attention 
should  be  called  to  the  anomalous  position,  to  say 
the  least,  these  persons  and  Churches  occupy, 
and  they  should  be  permitted  to  explain  their  ac- 
tion. To  us  they  seem  to  be  the  supporters  of  the 
most  gigantic  evil  that  ever,  as  a  single  mass,  ex- 
isted in  this  world.  Were  all  these  professed  re- 
ligious bodies  on  the  side  of  the  right,  the  evils 
and  the  crimes  of  intemperance,  with  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  traffic,  would  depart  from  our  country 
at  once. 

The  Churches  above  referred  to  should  be  re- 
garded by  the  friends  of  prohibition  as  missionary 
ground,  and  labor  should  be  commenced  therein 
at  once.  No  religious  body  has  the  right  to  be 
the  bulwark  of  evil  and  crime,  and  these  Churches 


258  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

can  be  made  to  feel  that  the  ground  they  occupy 
is  untenable. 

But  if  a  wise  Providence  raised  up  Methodism 
to  be  a  conservator  of  the  morals  of  the  Nation, 
its  position  and  testimony  on  the  temperance 
question  ought  to  be  of  the  most  decisive  charac- 
ter. Wesley's  rule  for  his  societies  in  England 
excluded  persons  guilty  of  "  drunkenness,  buying 
or  selling  spirituous  liquors,  or  drinking  them,  ex- 
cept in  cases  of  extreme  necessity."  Methodism, 
even  in  its  inorganic  state  in  this  country,  was  not 
less  decided  than  Wesley  in  enforcing  the  law  of 
temperance.  The  Conferences  of  1780  and  1783 
made  the  following  entry  in  their  journals: 

"  Shall  our  friends  be  permitted  to  make  spir- 
ituous liquors,  sell,  and  drink  them  in  drams? 

"Answer.  By  no  means.  We  think  it  wrong 
in  its  nature  and  consequences,  and  desire  all  our 
preachers  to  teach  the  people,  by  precept  and  ex- 
ample, to  put  away  this  evil." 

When  the  Church  was  formally  organized  in 
1784,  Wesley's  rule,  given  above,  became  a  part  of 
the  organic  law  of  the  Church,  and  there  it  has 
remained  unto  this  day.  At  that  time  Methodism 
was  the  only  organic  body  in  America  which  oc- 
cupied this  distinctly  temperance  ground;  but 
drinking  was  popular  among  the  people,  and 
drunkenness  abounded.  Seeing  these  things, 
Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury,  in  their  "Notes  on 
the  Discipline,"  call  the  attention  of  Methodists 
to  this  crying  evil  in  the  following  words: 


THE  TEMPERANCE  REFORMATION.        259 

"  Far  be  it  from  us  to  wish  or  endeavor  to  in- 
trude upon  the  proper  religious  or  civil  liberty  of 
any  of  our  people ;  but  the  retailing  of  spirituous 
liquors,  and  giving  drams  to  customers  when  they 
call  at  the  stores,  are  such  prevalent  customs  at 
present,  and  are  productive  of  so  many  evils,  that 
we  judge  it  our  indispensable  duty  to  form  a  reg- 
ulation against  them.  The  cause  of  God,  which 
we  prefer  to  every  other  consideration  under 
heaven,  requires  us  to  step  forth  with  humble 
boldness  in  this  respect." 

It  was  five  years  after  the  action  of  the  Meth- 
odists that  the  Litchfield  County  farmers  organ- 
ized themselves  into  a  temperance  society.  This 
year  the  celebrated  Dr.  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  by 
request,  addressed  the  Methodist  Conference  on 
the  subject  of  temperance. 

Among  the  multitude  of  sins  which  were  prev- 
alent on  the  frontier  in  these  early  days,  dram- 
drinking  and  drunkenness  held  high  court,  and 
the  influence  of  Methodism  among  the  back- 
woodsmen was  a  matter  of  the  first  importance. 
We  are  happy  to  find  that  the  preachers  faced 
the  monster,  and  bravely  stood  by  their  colors. 
James  Axley,  born  in  the  cane-brakes  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  a  native  genius  of  the  woods,  far  in 
advance  of  his  Eastern  brethren,  persistently 
urged  the  General  Conference  to  take  stronger 
and  higher  ground  on  this  subject,  as  the  General 
Rule,  in  some  aspects,  could  be  evaded  with  im- 
punity. In  the  Cumberland  country  of  Tennes- 


260          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

see  and  Kentucky,  in  Ohio  and  Illinois,  Peter 
Cartwright  acted  the  part  of  a  hero  in  the  cause 
of  temperance.  What  was  done  by  Cook,  Poy- 
thress,  Parker,  Gibson,  Walker,  Young,  McCor- 
mick,  Finley,  and  many  others,  all  mighty  men, 
throughout  the  great  West,  to  stay  the  tide  of  in- 
temperance, it  is  impossible  to  say;  but  great 
must  have  been  the  effects  of  their  labors. 

For  years  the  Methodist  Church  was  the  only 
organized  temperance  agency  that  was  at  work 
among  the  people.  As  a  sample  of  the  fidelity  of 
Methodism  along  the  border,  we  will  favor  the 
reader  with  a  little  of  the  experience  of  J.  B.  Fin- 
ley.  He  says: 

"At  Dillon's  Iron-works  there  were  many  who 
were  grossly  addicted  to  habits  of  intoxication. 
My  first  appointment  was  at  Dick's  Tavern,  and 
the  prospect  was  anything  but  encouraging.  While 
I  was  trying  to  preach,  many  were  engaged  in 
drinking  and  swearing.  On  reproving  them  for 
their  conduct,  one  fellow  turned  round,  with  glass 
in  hand  and  a  leering  look,  and  said :  '  You  go  on 
with  your  business  of  preaching,  and  we  will  mind 
ours.'  However,  the  L/ord  can  work  and  none 
can  hinder;  and,  notwithstanding  the  unpropi- 
tious  circumstances,  one  of  those  miserable  men 
was  awakened,  and,  seeking,  found  religion.  .  .  . 

"About  a  mile  distant  from  this  place,  a  gra- 
cious work  of  God  was  carried  on;  and  another 
broke  out  a  few  miles  distant,  under  the  labors  of 
a  local  brother,  Rev.  John  Goshen.  The  place 


THE  TEMPERANCE  REFORMATION.        261 

had  been  proverbial  for  wickedness  and  opposi- 
tion to  godliness.  *  .  The  devil's  kingdom  was 
terribly  shaken  by  the  conversion  of  the  great 
champion  of  wickedness,  Mr.  Savage.  The  prac- 
tice of  drunkenness  was  denounced,  and  fear  and 
trembling  came  upon  the  most  vile  and  hardened 
sinners.  .  .  . 

"One  of  the  greatest,  if  not  indeed  the  great- 
est, sources  of  wickedness  and  misery  resulted 
from  the  manufacture,  sale,  and  use  of  intoxicat- 
ing liquor;  and  the  evil,  lamentable  to  be  told, 
existed  in  the  Church  as  elsewhere.  Ardent  spir- 
its were  used  as  a  preventive  of  disease.  It  was 
also  regarded  as  a  necessary  beverage.  A  house 
could  not  be  raised,  a  field  of  wheat  cut  down, 
nor  could  there  be  a  log-rolling,  a  husking,  a 
quilting,  a  wedding,  or  a  funeral,  without  the  aid 
of  alcohol.  In  this  state  of  things,  there  was 
great  laxity  on  the  subject  of  drinking,  and  the 
ministers,  as  well  as  the  members  of  some  denom- 
inations, imbibed  pretty  freely.  The  only  temper- 
ance society  that  then  existed,  and,  consequently, 
the  only  standard  raised  against  the  overflowing 
scourge  of  intemperance,  was  the  Methodist 
Church.  The  '  General  Rules '  of  the  society 
prohibited  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  bev- 
erage, and  allowed  their  use  only  when  prescribed 
as  a  medicine  by  a  physician.  No  other  denom- 
ination having  prohibited  the  use  of  ardent  spir- 
its as  a  beverage,  it  followed,  as  a  necessary 
consequence,  that  all  persons  who  refused  to 


262  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

drink  were  called,  by  way  of  reproach,  Methodist 
fanatics.  .  .  . 

"  I  often  met  with  opposition  for  my  advocacy 
of  the  cause  of  temperance.  On  my  first  round, 
I  was  taken  into  a  room  at  one  of  my  stopping- 
places,  where  there  was  a  ten-gallon  keg.  I  asked 
my  host,  who  was  said  to  be  a  pious  man,  what 
the  keg  contained.  He  replied  that  it  was  whisky, 
and  that  he  had  procured  it  for  the  purpose  oi 
raising  a  barn  with  it.  I  asked  him  if  he  did  not 
know  that  this  drink  was  the  worst  enemy  of 
man,  and  that  it  might  occasion  the  death  of  some 
person,  and  be  the  cause  of  a  great  deal  of  swear- 
ing and,  perhaps,  fighting.  I  further  asked  him 
if  he  did  not  know  that  God  had  pronounced  a 
curse  against  the  man  who  putteth  the  bottle  to 
his  neighbor's  lips  and  maketh  him  drunken.  At 
this  he  became  excited,  and  angrily  said :  '  There 
is  no  law  against  using  whisky,  and  I  '11  do  as  I 
please.' 

"'Very  well,'  said  I;  'it  is  a  poor  rule  that 
won't  work  both  ways.  If  you  do  as  you  please, 
I  '11  do  as  I  please,  and  unless  you  take  that  keg 
out  of  this  room,  I  will  leave  the  house;  for  I 
would  rather  lie  out  in  the  woods  than  sleep  in  a 
Methodist  house  with  a  ten-gallon  keg  of  whisky 
for  my  room-mate.'  I  furthermore  said:  'Now, 
sir,  if  anything  occurs  at  your  barn-raising  of  an 
immoral  nature,  through  the  use  of  that  infernal 
stuff,  I  will  turn  you  out  of  the  Church!' 

"He  refused  to  move  the  keg,  and  I  took  my 


THE  TEMPERANCE  REFORMATION.         263 

horse,  and  went  to  another  place.  At  my  appoint- 
ment the  next  day,  I  took  occasion  to  preach 
against  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  in  any  form,  ex- 
cept prescribed  by  a  physician.  As  soon  as  I  was 
done,  an  old  exhorter  came  up  to  me,  and  said,  in 
a  fierce  and  angry  tone:  'Young  man,  I  advise 
you  to  leave  the  circuit,  and  go  home;  for  you 
are  doing  more  harm  than  good.  And  if  you 
can't  preach  the  gospel  and  let  people's  private 
business  alone,  they  do  not  want  you  at  all.'  I 
replied:  'I  shall  not  go  home;  for  I  have  a  com- 
mission from  Almighty  God  to  break  up  this 
stronghold  of  the  devil.  By  his  help  I  will  do  it, 
despite  of  all  distillers  and  abettors  in  the 
Church.' 

"Those  of  my  brethren  who  were  alive  to  God, 
stood  by  me.  I  drew  the  sword,  threw  away  the 
scabbard,  resolving  to  give  no  quarter  and  to  ask 
no  quarter  in  this  war  of  extermination.  .  .  . 
Encouraged  in  my  efforts  to  promote  the  cause 
of  temperance,  I  suffered  no  opportunity  to.  pass 
that  I  did  not  improve  in  portraying  the  physical, 
social,  and  moral  evils  resulting  from  intemper- 
ance. Frequently  I  would  pledge  whole  congre- 
gations, standing  upon  their  feet,  to  the  temper- 
ance cause,  and  during  my  rounds  I  am  certain 
the  better  portion  of  the  entire  community  be- 
came the  friends  and  advocates  of  temperance; 
and  on  this  circuit  alone,  at  least  one  thousand 
souls  had  solemnly  taken  the  pledge  of  total  ab- 
stinence. This  was  before  temperance  societies 


264  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

were  heard  of  in  this  country.  It  was  simply 
the  carrying  out  of  the  Methodist  Discipline  on 
the  subject.  My  efforts,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
awakened  the  ire  and  indignation  of  the  makers 
and  venders  of  the  ardent,  and  their  curses  were 
heaped  on  me  in  profusion.  .  .  .  One  of  the 
greatest  distillers  in  the  land  said  I  was  worse 
than  a  robber,  as  I  had  prevented  him  from  sell- 
ing whisky  to  the  harvesters,  and  his  family  was 
likely  to  suffer.  .  .  .  God  at  last  caused  vic- 
tory to  turn  on  the  side  of  temperance,  and  the 
Church  was  delivered  from  the  deadly  evil." 

Once  in  four  years  the  General  Conference 
either  indorses  its  previous  action  on  this  subject, 
or  by  resolution  takes  stronger  and  advanced 
ground.  At  no  time  has  a  note  of  retreat  ever 
been  sounded.  The  Annual  Conferences,  covering 
the  whole  Nation,  appoint  an  able  committee  at 
each  session,  and  their  reports  always  signify, 
"Down  with  the  monster  alcohol!"  The  last 
utterance  of  the  General  Conference,  incorporated 
in  its  book  of  Discipline,  is  in  these  words : 

"Temperance,  in  its  broader  meaning,  is  dis- 
tinctively a  Christian  virtue,  enjoined  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  It  implies  a  subordination  of  all  emo- 
tions, passions,  and  appetites  to  the  control  of  rea- 
son and  conscience.  Dietetically,  it  means  a  wise 
use  of  suitable  articles  of  food  and  drink,  with 
entire  abstinence  from  such  as  are  known  to  be 
hurtful.  Both  science  and  human  experience 
agree  with  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  condemning  all 


THE  TEMPERANCE  REFORMATION.        265 

alcoholic  beverages  as  being  neither  useful  nor 
safe.  The  business  of  manufacturing  and  of 
vending  such  liquors  is  also  against  the  principles 
of  morality,  political  economy,  and  the  public 
welfare.  We  regard,  therefore,  voluntary  total 
abstinence  from  all  intoxicants  as  the  true  ground 
of  personal  temperance,  and  complete  legal  pro- 
hibition of  the  traffic  in  alcoholic  drinks  as  the 
duty  of  civil  government.  We  heartily  approve 
of  all  lawful  and  Christian  efforts  to  save  society 
from  the  manifold  and  grievous  evils  resulting 
from  intemperance,  and  earnestly  advise  our  peo- 
ple to  co-operate  in  all  measures  which  may  seem 
to  them  wisely  adapted  to  secure  that  end.  We 
refer  to  our  General  Rule  on  this  subject,  and 
affectionately  urge  its  strict  observance  by  all  our 
members.  Finally,  we  are  fully  persuaded  that, 
under  God,  hope  for  the  ultimate  success  of  the 
Temperance  Reform  rests  chiefly  upon  the  com- 
bined and  sanctified  influence  of  the  family,  flie 
Church,  and  the  State." 

From  the  above  it  appears  that  Methodism 
contemplates  absolute  and  complete  prohibition, 
by  the  authority  which  has  the  power  to  legislate, 
as  the  remedy  for  intemperance;  and  it  looks  to 
the  family  and  the  Church  primarily  to  furnish 
the  conscience,  intelligence,  and  moral  force 
necessary  to  carry  such  laws  into  effect.  Thus  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  Methodism  which  started 
the  temperance  reform  in  this  country  is  still  on 
the  front  line  of  action. 

23 


266          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

May  we  not  inquire — not  boastingly,  but  in 
the  spirit  of  deprecation  and  deep  concern — what 
would  have  been  the  status  of  the  temperance 
cause  had  all  the  Churches,  from  their  organiza- 
tion, taken  the  same  ground  and  held  it  as  tena- 
ciously as  the  Methodists  have  done?  It  is  clear 
that  the  liquor  business  would  never  have  had 
any  other  than  a  limited  and  feeble  existence,  and 
that  absolute  prohibition  could  have  been  made  a 
practical  fact  at  any  time.  The  existence  of  this 
Republic  has  been  threatened  by  three  great  en- 
emies. Secession  came  first,  and  came  in  such  a 
way  that  it  had  to  be  met  promptly  and  crushed 
by  force  of  arms.  Were  it  possible  for  the  liquor- 
traffic  to  take  on  the  same  aspect  of  violence,  we 
should  wish  it  might  do  it  at  once;  for  then  pa- 
triotism and  force  would,  without  tampering  with 
it  or  delay,  drive  it  from  the  land.  But  the  en- 
emy approaches,  and  attacks  not  in  that  way. 
Having  at  command  enormous  -sums  of  money, 
the  product  of  its  nefarious  gains,  it  thrives  by 
plying  and  playing  upon  the  base  and  debasing 
appetites  of  men.  It  strikes  at  the  life  of  the  Na- 
tion by  undermining  its  virtue.  The  enemy  can 
be  met  only  by  legal  barriers,  and  law  is  but  an 
expression  of  public  sentiment.  Our  weapons 
can  be  none  other  than  law,  argument,  and  ap- 
peal. The  contest  is  between  the  cupidity  of  the 
rum-dealer  and  the  appetite  of  the  consumer  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  conscience  of  the  best  part 
of  the  community  on  the  other.  The  success  of 


THE  TEMPERANCE  REFORMATION.        267 

temperance  involves  the  moral  elevation  of  hu- 
manity. The  Churches,  which  should  in  every 
•way  put  forth  their  strength  to  effect  this  gen- 
eral uplift,  have  been  not  only  derelict  in  duty, 
but  their  influence  has  been  on  the  wrong  side  in 
the  contest. 

Of  Romanism,  the  third  evil,  nothing  better 
was  expected.  Whatever  goes  to  make  up  Prot- 
estant Americanism  is  the  object  of  its  relentless 
warfare.  For  this  it  would  substitute  the  spirit 
of  some  foreign  country,  or  of  the  "Dark  Ages," 
the  hour  of  its  supreme  glory.  The  rum-traffic  is 
a  moral  pestilence,  breathing  upon  the  morals  of 
the  Republic.  Romanism  is  a  foreign  hierarchy, 
corrupting  both  our  politics  and  morals ;  and  the 
two  influences,  combined  against  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  Nation,  demand  of  its  friends  eternal 
vigilance. 

Methodism,  having  been  in  this  conflict  from 
the  beginning  of  its  existence,  is  there  to  stay ; 
and  against  the  apathy  it  meets  in  many  places 
it  must  oppose  greater  diligence.  Its  past  history 
and  present  bearing  may  be  taken  as  a  sure  guar- 
antee that  in  every  coming  contest  it  will  form  the 
front  line  of  attack  nearest  to  the  foe.  On  exam- 
ination, it  was  found  that,  in  the  contest  for  prohi- 
bition in  Massachusetts,  every  Methodist  preacher 
in  the  State  was  011  the  side  of  temperance  and 
virtue,  and  probably  ninety-nine  hundredths  of 
the  laity  voted  in  the  same  way.  Take  from 
Iowa,  Kansas,  and  the  Dakotas  the  influence  of 


268          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

Methodism — 1,477  preachers  and  200,600  lay- 
men— and  prohibition  could  never  have  been 
made  the  glory  of  those  States.  Every  Method- 
ist minister  in  Michigan  and  Pennsylvania,  dur- 
ing the  great  contest  in  those  States,  gave  his 
whole  soul  to  the  work,  and  ceased  not  his  labors 
till  his  ballot  was  cast  for  temperance  and  prohi- 
bition. Let  Methodism,  as  the  leading  conserva- 
tive influence  of  the  religion  and  morals  of  the 
Nation,  realize  the  scope  and  fullness  of  its  re- 
sponsibilities, and  gird  itself  for  the  tremendous 
conflicts  that  on  temperance  are  to  come.  Slowly 
but  surely  the  victory  is  drawing  near,  either  for 
or  against  temperance.  In  the  triumph  of  rum 
we  see  the  ascendency  of  every  vice  and  the  prev- 
alence of  every  form  of  misery,  and,  finally,  the 
Nation's  fall. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  all  along  the  line 
the  Methodist  press  is  doing  valiant  work.  We 
know  of  no  Methodist  agency  which  is  not  in  the 
field ;  but  possibly  all  are  not  worked  with  the 
earnestness  and  intensity  that  is  possible.  It  may 
be  the  Church  has  treated  the  liquor-traffic  and 
intemperance  too  much  as  evils  and  too  little  as 
crimes.  Political  policy  is  too  selfish,  too  craven- 
spirited,  to  consider  the  subject  except  from  the 
stand-point  of  party  success.  A  higher  power  is 
necessary  to  reach  the  conscience  of  the  Nation, 
and  make  the  guilty  tremble  when  they  reflect 
that  God  is  just.  Clearly  drunkenness  is  a  crime, 
and  sobriety  and  temperance  are  Christian  virtues. 


THE  TEMPERANCE  REFORMATION.        269 

The  question  should  be  held  up  on  this  high  plane 
as  the  discussion  goes  on.  Though  a  question  of 
our  country  and  of  time;  yet  it  laps  upon  eternity. 
What  the  cause  needs  just  now  is  not  political  ac- 
tion or  elections,  inasmuch  as  we  know  that  the 
votes,  to  win  the  day,  are  wanting.  The  defeat 
of  prohibition  in  many  States  stares  us  in  the 
face,  and  the  liquor  interest  seems  to  be  inspired 
by  a  satanic  ambition  to  invade  the  few  prohibiting 
States.  They  act  as  if  they  thought  their  free- 
dom had  been  abridged,  and  an  inalienable  right 
had  been  taken  from  them. 

Though  we  may  look  for  no  good  to  come  from 
Romanism,  why  may  we  not  hope  that,  in  the 
near  future,  all  Protestant  bodies  in  this  country 
will  become  united  in  a  league,  offensive  and  de- 
fensive, against  the  rum  power?  Would  it  not  be 
proper  for  the  next  General  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  frame  a  circular 
embracing  the  principal  facts  in  the  case,  and  ad- 
dress it  to  the  Churches  of  this  country,  asking  for 
their  co-operation  in  the  cause  of  prohibition? 
What  we  need  is  constitutional  law,  either  State 
or  National,  and  to  this  end  we  must  have  the  in- 
telligence and  the  conscience  that  will  furnish  the 
votes.  Lampooning  individuals,  or  Churches,  or 
parties,  for  not  attempting  what  they  know  can 
not  be  done — for  not  plucking  fruit  from  the  tree 
whilst  yet  it  is  in  blossom — is  worse  than  labor 
lost.  What  society  needs  is  more  intelligence, 
more  conscience,  more  of  the  fear  of  God,  more 


2JO  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

loyalty  to  duty,  and  a  greater  dread  of  the  retri- 
butions of  the  judgment-day. 

Upon  this  stronghold  of  man's  greatest  enemy 
there  must  be  a  concentration  of  forces  and  a  per- 
sistent attack.  Methodism  must  not  tarry  for 
either  leadership,  example,  or  commands.  As  in 
the  gospel  there  is  the  center  and  sum  of  all  vir- 
tues, so  in  the  rum-traffic  there  is  the  sum  of  all 
crimes  and  villainies.  It  is  not  simply  an  evil  or 
a  calamity  we  fight,  but  the  most  foul  and  soul- 
damning  sins.  Should  this  Republic  fail  because 
of  intemperance,  Methodism  will  not  have  done 
its  whole  duty. 


"  ./jTOREIGXERS  are  not  coming  to  the  United  States  in  an- 
®l  swer  to  any  appetite  of  ours,  controlled  by  an  unfailing 
moral  or  political  instinct.  They  naturally  consult  their  own 
interests,  not  ours.  The  lion,  -without  being  consulted  as  to 
time,  quantity,  or  quality,  is  having  food  thrust  down  his 
throat ;  and  his  only  alternative  is — digest,  or  die !" 

272  — JOSIAH  STRONG. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

METHODISM  AS  AN  AGENCY  TO  PRODUCE  NATIONAL 
HOMOGENEITY. 

WEAKNESS  necessarily  characterizes  the  na- 
tion whose  government  and  people  are  rep- 
resented by  a  mixture  of  iron  and  potter's-clay. 
Lacking  the  element  of  homogeneity,  the  mighty 
Roman  Empire  crumbled  to  pieces,  and  is  now  no 
more.  By  requiring  the  use  of  their  respective 
languages,  France,  Germany,  and  Austria  have 
tried  to  unify  the  different  peoples  of  their  Gov- 
ernments and  increase  their  strength.  China,  be- 
cause of  its  ethnic  unity,  has  existed  for  ages;  it 
saw  the  Roman  Empire  rise  and  culminate  and 
fall,  and  it  is  as  strong  to-day  in  its  mediocrity 
as  ever. 

When  we  consider  the  extent  of  this  country, 
the  vastness  of  the  population  that  is  coining,  and 
the  different  nationalities  that  will  be  represented, 
the  difficulties  of  producing  a  homogeneous  peo- 
ple become  apparent  and  appalling.  That  which 
is  essential  to  the  greatness  and  perpetuity  of 
this  country  is  a  mighty  Americanism.  Rome 
attained  a  conquering  spirit  and  a  governing 
power  no  other  nation,  to  an  equal  extent,  had 
ever  possessed;  and  something  analogous  to 

273 


274  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

this — not  to  direct  foreign  conquests,  but  as  a  home- 
power  to  digest  and  assimilate  the  foreign  ele- 
ments that  have  come  among  us — is  essential  to 
the  development,  the  unity,  and  stability  of  this 
Republic.  Our  Americanism  may  be  rude,  uncul- 
tured, bold  and  rampant  in  spirit — it  may  be  vast 
in  its  ambition,  and  wild  in  its  aspiration, — but 
our  genius  had  better  be  anything  rather  than 
foreign.  It  is  not  for  America  to  imitate  any 
nation,  or  to  live  over  again  any  part  of  the 
world's  past  history,  but  to  pioneer  its  own  way 
onward  and  upward  into  a  higher  and  better 
nationality  than  has  ever  previously  existed.  Our 
Americanism  must  be  so  intense  that  when  the 
Irishman,  the  German,  the  Frenchman,  and  Scan- 
dinavian lands  on  our  shores  he  will  feel  that  he 
is  born  again,  and  that  new  and  fresh  blood  is 
coursing  through  his  veins.  The  daily  life  of  our 
patriotism,  as  well  as  our  public  institutions, 
should  tend  to ;  foster  the  spirit  of  a  true,  home- 
like, American  sentiment. 

In  this  respect,  what  the  Review  of  Reviews 
says  of  Wesley  and  the  English  national  life, 
may  be  applied  to  Methodism  in  this  country : 

"  The  politicians  and  statesmen  little  appreciate 
the  extent  to  which  the  solidarity  and  homogeneity 
of  the  English  people  have  been  strengthened  by 
the  labors  of  Wesley .  For  forty  years  this  man 
was  little  more  than  a  highly  vitalized  human 
shuttle,  flying  backwards  and  forwards  in  the  na- 
tional loom,  and  weaving  together  into  one  organic 


NATIONAL  HOMOGENEITY.  275 

whole  the  isolated  and  widely  scattered  commu- 
nities which  made  the  English  people.  .  . 
The  Methodist  bodies,  with  their  itinerating 
ministers,  are  continually  weaving  closer  and 
closer  the  many-colored  strands  of  our  national 
life." 

The  foreign  population  of  this  country  at  the 
present  date  is  about  8,000,000,  and  a  still  greater 
number  of  native-born  subjects  have  a  parentage 
of  foreign  birth.  In  this  grand  aggregate  nearly 
every  country  under  heaven  is  represented.  Can 
this  heterogeneous  crowd — much  of  it  ignorant 
and  depraved  to  the  last  degree — become  infused 
with  the  American  spirit?  Among  this  mass  of 
humanity  may  be  found  Brahmins,  Buddhists, 
Shintooists,  the  disciples  of  Confucius,  Catholics, 
Mohammedans,  adherents  of  the  Greek  Church, . 
Jews,  and  nearly  every  other  class  that  lives  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.  Is  the  presence  of  this 
conglomeration  of  elements — elements  having  the 
obduracy  of  nationality  and  the  fixedness  of  re- 
ligion— a  source  of  strength  to  the  Nation,  or  do 
they  threaten  its  very  existence? 

In  this  respect  let  us  glance  at  the  attitude  of 
Romanism.  It  is  now  well  understood  that  the 
agents  of  the  pope  in  this  country  are  Jesuit 
priests,  and  that  they  give  tone  to  the  pulpit  and 
press  of  Romanism.  An  assault  is  now  made  all 
along  the  line  upon  the  common  schools,  the  basal 
element  of  the  American  Republic.  Cardinal 
Gibbons  is  conducting  this  force.  The  principles 


276  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

and  spirit  of  the  contest  may  be  seen  in  the  follow- 
ing authorized  statements: 

Archbishop  Pierche :  "  Our  public-school  system,  as  organ- 
ized in  this  State,  is  emphatically  a  social  plague ;  .  .  .  it 
is  vicious,  .  .  .  radically  mischievous,  .  .  .  specially 
baneful  to  society." 

Catholic  Telegram'.  "It  will  be  a  glorious  day  for  the 
Catholics  in  this  country  when,  under  the  blows  of  justice 
and  morality,  our  school  system  shall  be  shivered  to  pieces." 

Freeman's  Journal:  ''Let  the  public-school  system  go  to 
where  it  came  from — the  devil." 

"Pages  might  be  filled  with  such  quotations. 
The  Jesuit,  before  entering  upon  the  war  against 
our  schools,  swears:  'I  do  renounce  and  disown 
any  allegiance  as  due  to  any  heretical  king,  prince, 
or  State,  named  Protestant,  or  obedience  to  any 
of  their  inferior  magistrates  or  officers.'  One  has 
well  said:  'Whatever  a  Jesuit  favors,  suspect  as 
against  your  liberties  and  personal  well-being.' " 
(Central  Christian  Advocate.) 

In  opposing  education  and  free  inquiry,  Ro- 
manists confess  their  lack  of  faith  in  their  form 
of  religion.  The  Catholic  Review,  of  April, 
1871,  gives  us  a  true  insight  into  popery,  as 
follows : 

"'We  do  not  indeed  prize  as  highly  as  some  of 
our  countrymen  appear  to  do,  the  ability  to  read 
and  write  and  cipher:  Some  men  are  born  to  be 
leaders,  and  the  rest  are  born  to  be  led.  The 
best  ordered  and  administered  State  is  that  in 
which  the  few  are  well  educated,  and  lead;  and 
the  many  are  trained  to  obedience,'  etc.  This, 


NATIONAL  HOMOGENEITY.  277 

precisely,  is  the  condition  of  all  Catholic  countries. 
In  Italy,  under  the  pope,  seventy-three  per  cent 
are  illiterate;  in  Spain,  eighty  per  cent;  and  in 
Mexico,  ninety-three  per  cent.  And  in  these 
countries  Romanism  has  had  undisputed  sway 
for  centuries,  and  shaped  society  at  pleasure. 
Their  illiteracy  is  precisely  as  Rome  would  have 
it  there;  and  here,  if  it  could."  (Christian  Ad- 
vocate.) 

The  "few  to  lead,"  and  the  masses  "trained 
to  obedience!"  Here  we  see  the  soul — the  beat- 
ing heart — of  Romanism.  No  greater  incubus 
exists  in  the  way  of  the  uplift  of  humanity  than 
popery.  No  prominent  Romanist  ever  lived  in 
this  country  who  came  nearer  being  an  Ameri- 
can than  O.  A.  Brownson.  Hear  what  he  says  of 
popish  schools: 

"They  practically  fail  to  recognize  human 
progress.  .  .  .  They  do  not  educate  their 
pupils  to  be  at  home  and  at  their  ease  in  their 
own  age  and  country,  or  train  them  to  be  living, 
thinking,  energetic  men.  .  .  .  They  who  are 
educated  in  our  schools,  seem  misplaced  and  mis- 
timed in  the  world,  as  if  born  and  educated  for  a 
world  that  had  ceased  to  exist.  The  cause  of 
the  failure  of  what  we  call  Catholic  education,  in 
our  judgment,  is  the  fact  that  we  educate,  not  for 
the  present  or  the  future,  but  for  the  past.  .  .  . 
An  order  of  things  which  the  world  has  left  be- 
hind; for  it  could  be  reproduced,  if  at  all,  only  by 
a  second  childhood."  He  adds:  "The  Clmrch 


278  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

has  here  a  foreign  aspect,  and  has  no  root  in  the 
life  of  the  Nation.  Even  those  of  our  clergy  and 
our  professors  and  teachers  who  have  been  born 
and  educated  in  this  country,  have  been  educated 
in  schools  founded  upon  a  foreign  model,  and  con- 
ducted by  foreigners,  and  are,  in  regard  to  civili- 
zation, more  foreign  than  native." 

Were  it  a  fact  that  these  millions  had  wholly 
sundered  their  connection  with  their  native  land, 
and  come  here  to  stay  and  fulfill  all  the  duties  of 
American  citizens,  there  would  be  no  ground  for 
fear.  But  we  know  that  such  is  not  the  case. 
We  have  among  us  about  seven  millions  of  peo- 
ple called  Catholics  or  Papists,  who  confess  that 
their  supreme  allegiance,  in  the  matter  of  govern- 
ment, is  to  a  man  in  Rome,  Italy,  called  the  pope. 
He  is  held  to  be  not  the  subject  of  any  govern- 
ment, but,  in  matters  of  supreme  importance,  the 
ruler  of  all  nations.  Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrollton, 
dared  not,  in  1776,  put  his  signature  to  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence  till  he  had — delaying  some 
months  for  the  purpose — consulted  this  pope. 

Cardinal  Newman,  of  England,  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  scholarly  minds  of  the  age, 
gloried  in  the  humility  and  self-abnegation  he 
manifested  in  submitting  to  this  pope,  for  his  ap- 
proval, whatever  he  wrote,  before  publishing  it  to 
the  world.  In  finding  a  basis  of  peace  with  the 
Vatican,  the  great  Napoleon  was  compelled  to 
recognize  the  pope  as  the  spiritual — that  is,  the 
supreme — ruler  of  the  French  Empire.  Should 


NATIONAL  HOMOGENEITY.  279 

an  American  Catholic  statesman  feel  it  his  duty 
to  act  in  a  given  way,  and  the  pope  forbid,  his 
oath  would  give  way  in  a  moment  in  deference  to 
this  higher  authority.  Like  Carroll,  he  would  say, 
The  pope  first,  and  my  country  afterwards.  His 
Jesuitical  oath  always  means,  "With  the  sanction 
of  the  pope." 

But  as  a  matter  of  fact,  abundantly  established 
by  the  history  of  the  past,  popery  is  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  work  of  subverting  the  essential  in- 
stitutions of  this  country.  The  prevailing  spirit 
of  Romanism  in  the  world  is  Irish,  this  foreign  el- 
ement surpassing  the  German,  French,  Spanish, 
and  all  other  nationalities  by  more  than  one-half. 
Nearly  all  the  bishops  and  archbishops  are  foreign- 
ers, or  their  fathers  were.  Nothing  can  be  more 
alien  to  their  thoughts  and  feelings  than  American 
ideas.  They  can  see  no  desirable  connection  be- 
tween the  perpetuity  of  the  American  Republic 
and  virtuous  intelligence  as  its  cause ;  hence  the 
malicious  and  persistent  war  they  keep  up  against 
the  great  educational  institutions  of  America. 
They  see  no  good  in  anything  which  is  not  a  part 
of  the  papacy  or  subservient  to  it.  An  intelligent, 
thorough-going  American  is  nothing  in  their  esti- 
mation— a  papist  everything.  A  prosperous  com- 
munity, living  in  comfortable  houses,  well  clothed 
and  well-fed,  independent,  and  happy,  is  not  an 
attractive  aspect  of  society  to  an  Irish  bishop, 
and  at  a  stroke  he  would  reduce  it  to  the  squalor 
and  crime  and  misery  of  Irish  peasants,  providing 


280  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

that,  in  the  change,  they  would  become  Romanists. 
Romanists  would  not  only  destroy  our  truly  Amer- 
ican institutions — those  which  embody  the  spirit 
and  the  conservative  force  of  the  Nation — but  they 
would,  in  their  place,  establish  exotic  institutions, 
such  as  monasteries  and  nunneries.  An  ex-Cath- 
olic priest,  Edward  McGlynn,  makes  the  following 
statement : 

"  The  ears  of  American  boys,  born  of  German 
parents,  are  boxed  by  the  religious  teachers  in  pa- 
rochial schools  in  St.  Louis  for  the  heinous  offense 
of  speaking  the  common  language  of  America — 
the  English ;  and  a  clerical  superintendent,  to  re- 
proach an  American  boy  of  German  parents  for 
manliness  and  independence,  can  find  no  better 
words  to  do  justice  to  his  reprobation  than  to  say: 
' Du  bist  ein  Amerikaner'1 —  You  are  an  American. 
There  is  a  wide-spread  and  persistent  effort,  with 
scarcely  any  attempt  to  conceal  it,  to  Germanize 
the  Catholic  Church  in  the  Northwest.  The 
means  toward  the  attainment  of  this  end  is  to 
multiply  German  Church  schools  and  German 
parishes,  and  to  make  the  multiplication  of  the 
latter  an  excuse  and  a  justification  for  the  appoint- 
ment, with  the  aid  of  German  cardinals  in  Rome, 
of  more  German-speaking  bishops." 

To  understand  this  statement,  we  have  only  to 
reflect  that  Irish  archbishops  and  bishops  greatly 
preponderate  in  this  country,  and  that  the  Ger- 
mans are  trying  to  bring  about  a  condition  of 
things — the  use  of  the  German  language — which 


NATIONAL  HOMOGENEITY.  ^8 1 

will  enable  them  to  catch  up,  or,  at  least,  hold 
their  own.  The  Nation  is  the  only  sufferer  in  the 
case.  Romanism  labors  to  divide  our  people,  and 
prevent  that  unity  in  which  alone  is  strength. 

"The  very  facts  which  Archbishop  Ryan  tri- 
umphantly cited,  however,  seem  to  many  Ameri- 
cans of  evil  augury.  The  bishop  did  not  mention 
that  the  increase  of  the  numbers  of  his  Church 
measures  largely  the  increase  of  a  population  for- 
eign to  American  traditions  of  every  kind  ;  nor 
did  he  consider  the  reason  of  what  he  called  'the 
antagonism  of  the  great  majority  of  the  people  to 
the  Catholic  Church.'  There  is  no  such  antag- 
onism to  the  Methodist,  or  Baptist,  or  Presbyte- 
rian, or  Episcopalian  communions.  Why  does  it 
exist  toward  the  Roman  ?  Because  its  own  ag- 
grandizement and  power  as  an  institution  are  the 
visible  aims  of  that  Church.  Neither  in  its  spirit, 
nor  in  its  traditions,  nor  in  its  methods  or  sympa- 
thies, is  it  American.*  Indeed,  one  of  its  chief  pol- 
icies and  aims  is  the  overthrow  of  the  corner-stone 
of  the  American  system — the  non-sectarian  public 
school.  Its  object  in  that  crusade  seems  to  Amer- 
ican intelligence  not  to  be  the  welfare  of  the  Amer- 
ican Republic  so  much  as  the  ascendency  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church."  (Harper's  Weekly.) 

At  the  Centennial  Convention  held  in  the  city 
of  Baltimore,  November  12,  1889,  bitter  complaints 
were  made  that  great  prejudice  existed  in  this 
country  against  the  papal  hierarchy.  Call  it  not 
prejudice,  but  downright  square  and  open  opposi- 

24 


282  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

tion.  Such  it  is,  and  such  it  ought  to  be.  No  pa- 
triot can  see  a  mighty  foreign  force  laboring  night 
and  day  to  sap  the  foundations  of  his  country, 
and  establish  it  upon  the  worn-out  and  obsolete 
ideas  of  the  past,  and  remain  indifferent.  Can  it 
be  denied  that  deliverance  from  the  sway  of  Ro- 
manism has  saved  this  country  from  the  fate  of 
Mexico,  Central  America,  Italy,  and  other  papal 
States?  The  slums  of  our  cities,  the  inmates  of 
our  poor-houses,  jails,  prisons,  and  the  victims  of 
the  gallows,  have  furnished  us  such  a  taste  of 
popery,  that  we  want  no  more  of  it,  and  most  de- 
voutly wish  we  were  free  from  much  that  we 
have.  Why  are  not  the  people  opposed  to  other 
Churches?  The  true  answer  is,  these  Churches 
are  American  in  spirit  and  conduct,  and  no  one 
has  a  doubt  of  their  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  country.  This  opposition 
will  continue  while  it  remains  apparent  that  the 
papacy  exists,  not  for  the  good  of  humanity,  but 
to  augment  and  aggrandize  its  own  power  for  the 
benefit  of  a  foreign  magnate.  It  is  some  satisfac- 
tion to  know  that  but  a  few  native-born  Amer- 
ican citizens  are  corrupted  by  its  blandishments, 
and  that  at  least  one-third  of  the  Catholics  who 
leave  Europe  for  our  shores  turn  their  backs  upon 
pope  and  priest  after  breathing  for  a  time  the  at- 
mosphere of  America. 

The  following  facts  will  illustrate  more  clearly 
this  subject  in  its  relation  to  education: 

"  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Bennett  Law 


NATIONAL  HOMOGENEITY.  283 

provides  for  compulsory  education  to  the  extent 
of  twelve  weeks'  attendance  upon  some  school, 
and  declares  that  no  school  shall  be  regarded  as 
a  school  within  its  meaning  in  which  the  pri- 
mary branches  are  not  taught  in  the  English 
language.  This  has  been  construed  as  an  attack 
upon  the  parochial  schools  of  the  Romanist  and 
Lutheran  Churches.  Lutherans  have  declared 
their  full  intent  to  make  a  bitter  combat,  and  it 
is  probable  that  the  same  issue  will  appear  in 
other  States.  Certain  Lutheran  assemblies  have 
passed  resolutions  declarative  of  their  determined 
warfare  upon  all  political  candidates  who  do  not 
promise  to  repeal  the  hated  laws. 

"We  note  that  a  recent  assembly  of  German 
Methodists  in  Illinois  has  also  taken  action  on 
the  subject.  We  refer  to  this,  not  because  we 
enjoy  Church  interference  with  legislation,  but 
rather  because  the  action  taken  by  our  German 
brethren  illustrates  another  and  correcter  phase  of 
opinion.  These  Methodist  Churchmen  declare  in 
favor  of  Americanism  of  the  right  kind.  No  na- 
tion on  earth  would  tolerate  immigrants  who  pro- 
posed to  educate  their  children  in  the  exclusive 
traditions  and  language  of  the  land  from  which 
they  came.  That  which  less  free  nations  would 
require  should  be  freely  conceded  by  those  who 
seek  citizenship  in  a  free  country.  Our  German 
Methodist  brethren  are  worthy  the  liberty  they 
came  hither  to  seek  and  to  re-enforce  through  their 
coming.  They  have  as  much  conceivable  motive 


284          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

to  reject  the  English  language  as  have  Romanists 
or  Lutherans;  but  they  are  more  sensible,  and  act 
as  if  they  had  come  to  this  country  to  be  Amer- 
icans, and  not  to  organize  a  camp  of  enemies  of 
liberty  for  service  against  the  Republic.  This  is 
an  issue  in  which  every  man  and  woman  should 
share.  The  parents  who  decline  to  school  their 
children  in  American  citizenship  and  language 
are  few.  The  priests  are  making  this  trouble,  and 
are,  in  fact,  tyrannizing  over  their  people.  For 
the  very  sakes  of  those  people  and  their  children 
the  laws  in  question  should  be  vindicated.  The 
authorities,  particularly  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
fear  that  they  will  lose  power  if  their  flocks  com- 
mingle more  closely  with  American  citizens." 
(Northwestern  Christian  Advocate.) 

The  assimilation  of  our  foreign  population  to 
American  ideas,  purposes,  and  aims  is  a  matter  of 
prime  importance ;  and  the  part  Methodism  is 
taking  in  this  difficult  and  vital  work  is  worthy 
of  serious  consideration.  The  fact  that  a  man  is 
a  foreigner  is,  per  se,  nothing  against  him.  Had 
Summerfield,  Maffitt,  and  Cookman  been  Amer- 
ican-born, they  could  not  have  received  more  hon- 
orable treatment  from  Methodism  ;  and  then  a 
large  body  of  missionaries  have  been  kindly  sent 
among  our  foreign  population,  for  they  have  been 
made  objects  of  special  regard.  The  United 
Brethren  Church  was  organized,  after  the  Meth- 
odist pattern  of  discipline,  of  German  converts — 
the  fruits  of  the  united  labors  of  Asbury  and  Otter- 


NATIONAL  HOMOGENEITY.  285 

bein — because  Asbury  thought  a  separate  organ- 
ization would  be  better  for  that  people;  and  the 
Evangelical  Association,  or  Albright  Church,  is 
one  of  the  conspicuous  fruits  of  Methodism. 

The  history  of  Methodism  among  our  German 
population  reads  like  a  dream  or  romance.  It 
was  the  prevalence  of  infidelity,  Sabbath-break- 
ing, and  beer-drinking  which,  in  1835,  first  ar- 
rested the  attention  of  the  Church  in  regard  to 
them.  What  was  wanted  to  start  with  was  a 
man — a  man  of  good  ability,  well-educated,  and 
thoroughly  converted.  And  who  should  present 
himself  at  the  moment  he  was  wanted  but  William 
Nast.  Born  in  Germany  in  1807,  educated  at 
Stuttgart  and  at  Tubingen  for  the  ministry  in 
the  State  Church,  he  followed  that  calling  for  a 
term  of  two  years.  Satisfied  that  the  faith  he  was 
expected  to  preach  did  not  embrace  the  gospel  in 
its  fullness,  he  left  the  pulpit,  and  in  1828  lauded 
in  New  York  City. 

In  1835,  a  poor,  wretched,  convicted  sinner,  he 
appeared  on  a  camp-ground  above  Pittsburg,  on 
the  Monongahela  River,  where  he  was  abundantly 
blessed.  Here  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
great,  warm-hearted  Irishman,  Dr.  Charles  El- 
liott. Nothing  more  was  needed.  Here  was  the 
man,  and  here  was  the  man  who  knew  him.  In 
the  autumn  of  this  year  Nast  was  admitted  to  the 
Ohio  Conference,  and  appointed  missionary  to  the 
Germans  of  Cincinnati.  A  hard  year's  work,  with 
but  little  fruit,  followed  this  appointment.  The 


286  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

next  year  he  traveled  the  large  Columbus  District, 
but  it  was  all  seed-sowing  and  no  apparent  fruit. 
Again  he  was  sent  to  Cincinnati,  and  at  the  next 
Conference  he  was  able  to  report  a  Sunday-school 
and  a  society  of  twenty-six  members.  During  the 
year  he  had  published  the  "General  Rules  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church"  and  the  "Wesleyan 
Catechism"  in  the  German  language.  So  appar- 
ent was  the  value  of  the  press,  that  contributions 
of  money  were  made,  and  in  1838  Der  Christ- 
liche  Apologete  was  started,  and  Nast  appointed 
editor. 

From  this  time  the  work  moved  on  in  all  di- 
rections in  the  primitive  Methodist  fashion.  L/.  S. 
Jacoby,  a  brilliant  young  German  scholar,  was 
induced  to  attend  a  Methodist  meeting.  At  that 
service  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Breunig,  a 
converted  Catholic,  preached  his  first  sermon. 
Jacoby  was  surprised  and  interested;  went  again, 
heard  Nast,  and  that  completed  the  work.  The 
cause  now  moved  forward  with  redoubled  power. 
Wheeling,  Va.,  Pittsburg,  Penn.,  and  Lawrence- 
burg,  Ind.,  are  smitten  by  the  Spirit,  souls  are 
converted,  and  societies  organized.  Out  of  these 
societies  came  able  men,  who  gave  full  proof  that 
they  were  called  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  In 
fact,  as  the  work  spread,  there  were  never  want- 
ing suitable  men  to  care  for  it. 

The  work  took  root  in  New  Orleans  in  1841 
on  this  wise:  A  young  man,  converted  in  Cincin- 
nati, went  to  that  city,  and  engaged  himself  to 


NATIONAL  HOMOGENEITY.  287 

some  one  as  a  teamster.  His  comrades  noticed 
his  happy  and  exemplary  life;  and  often,  in  the 
stable,  they  found  him  engaged  in  prayer.  He 
talked  to  them  of  the  salvation  he  had  found,  and 
invited  them  to  spend  an  evening  with  him  in 
prayer.  The  blessing  of  the  Lord  was  upon  his 
labors,  and  that  night  several  persons  were  con- 
verted. A  preacher  was  sent  for,  a  society  organ- 
ized, a  church  built,  and  German  Methodism  be- 
came a  fixture  in  New  Orleans. 

Wheeling  was  favored  with  the  first  German 
Methodist  Church  that  was  dedicated  in  America. 
This  was  in  1838.  J.  Swahlen,  one  of  Nast's 
first  converts,  was  efficient  in  the  ministry,  and 
proved  to  be  a  mighty  man  wherever  he  went, 
East  or  West.  At  this  early  date,  Catholics,  in- 
fidels, and  saloon-keepers  began  to  unite  and 
oppose  the  spread  ..of  these  "  Methodist  her- 
etics." 

It  is  very  interesting  and  profitable  to  trace 
the  growth  and  spread  of  German  Methodism.  It 
is  largely  the  pioneer  age  of  the  Church  over 
again.  Our  business,  however,  is  not  to  write  his- 
tory, but  put  in  array  such  facts  as  are  essential 
to  the  clearness  and  conclusiveness  of  our  argu- 
ment. At  present  the  German  work  includes  the 
following  large  Conferences,  namely:  The  Ger- 
many and  Switzerland  Conference,  in  Europe; 
Southern,  Eastern,  Western,  Central,  Chicago, 
Northwest,  St.  Louis,  California,  and  Louisiana. 
Thousands  of  young  German  converts,  who  have 


288          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

learned  to  use  freely  the  English  tongue,  find  a 
religious  home  in  the  American  Church. 

German  Methodism  has  rapidly  girded  itself 
around  with  all  those  agencies  and  helps  which 
tend  to  bring  German  citizens  into  harmony  and 
sympathy  with  the  institutions  of  their  adopted 
country.  The  following  schools  indicate  the 
scope  and  strength  of  their  educational  interests: 
Central  Wesleyan  College,  at  Warrenton,  Mo., 
with  four  professors  and  an  endowment  fund  of 
$25,000.  The  college  building  is  three  stories, 
90  by  55  feet.  It  has  a  library  of  2,500  volumes 
and  a  museum.  It  has  under  its  care  the  Cen- 
tral Orphan  Asylum,  a  fine  institution,  well  sup- 
ported, and  has  been  a  great  blessing  to  many 
poor  orphans.  At  Berea,  Ohio,  it  has  an  'orphan- 
age and  college.  The  property  is  worth  $125,000, 
and  the  institution  is  in  a  flourishing  condition. 
In  all  respects,  Berea  is  one  of  the  strongholds  of 
German  Methodism.  At  Galena,  111.,  a  massive 
structure,  formerly  owned  and  used  by  the  United 
States  as  a  hospital,  was  bought  by  the  German 
Methodists  in  1868  for  $6,000,  for  purposes  of  ed- 
ucation. A  theological  course  of  instruction  is  a 
part  of  its  curriculum.  In  1873  the  German 
Methodists  founded  a  college  at  Mt.  Pleasant, 
Iowa;  and,  lastly,  the  Martin  Institute,  in  Ger- 
many. 

The  following  periodicals,  besides  the  Apolo- 
gist, are  published:  The  Sunday-school  Bell,  Bible 
Lessons,  Hans  und  Herd,  Leaf  Cluster,  Pictorial 


NATIONAL  HOMOGENEITY.  289 

Paper.     This   German   literature   is   supplied  by 
German  pens. 

At  present  the  net-work  of  German  Method- 
ism covers  the  country,  but  how  strong  it  is  in 
the  South  and  in  Canada  we  are  unable  to  say. 
The  last  report  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  body 
gave  the  following  figures:  Communicants,  63,732  ; 
number  of  churches,  1,169  —  probable  value, 
$3,131,849;  parsonages,  374  —  probable  value, 


These  German  Methodists  are  thoroughly 
Americanized  citizens.  Romanism  would  keep 
the  Irishman  Irish  forever,  the  Italian  an  Italian, 
the  German  a  German,  and  the  Spaniard  a  Span- 
iard —  anything  but  an  American.  The  Lutheran 
Church  would  do  the  same  with  the  German,  the 
Swede,  the  Dane,  and  Norwegian.  So  far  as  it 
opposes  the  use  of  the  English  language  in  the 
schools  of  St.  Louis  and  Wisconsin  it  is  a  traitor 
to  its  adopted  country,  and  deserves  at  least  to  be 
denied  citizenship.  On  the  other  hand,  the  influ- 
ence of  Methodism  has  reached  the  minds  of 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  foreigners  of  different 
nationalities,  and  infused  into  them  the  spirit  of 
love  and  loyalty  to  American  institutions. 

Dr.  Nast  still  lives,  and  in  the  possession  of 
good  health,  enjoys  the  honors  and  the  success  he 
has  won. 

Considering  how  wide  the  space  over  which 
our  German  population  is  scattered,  that  nearly 
all  on  reaching  this  country  are  Romanists  or 

25 


290  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

Lutheran  formalists,  that  they  cordially  unite 
with  infidels  and  saloonists  in  opposing  Method- 
ism, we  regard  its  success  in  the  conversion  of 
so  many  souls  an  inestimable  blessing  to  the 
Nation.  Since  its  organization  among  the  Ger- 
mans, Methodism  has  reached  and  influenced  for 
good  not  less  than  one  million  of  souls  for  their 
benefit.  Many  Romanists  and  formalists  have 
become  Christians  in  deed  and  in  truth.  Wher- 
ever one  becomes  a  Methodist,  he  becomes  thor- 
oughly Americanized.  Obligations  to  God  em- 
brace obligations  to  country.  Every  thoroughly 
Americanized  German  acts  as  leaven  upon  the 
minds  of  his  countrymen  for  the  good  of  his 
adopted  country. 

The  close  connection  which  subsists  between 
German  Methodism  in  this  country  and  the 
Church's  missions  in  the  fatherland  has  a  favor-, 
able  influence  upon  all  American  interests.  At 
the  fountain-head  of  emigration  the  Church  has 
an  agency  ten  thousand  strong,  which  is  indi- 
rectly doing  all  in  its  power  to  prepare  such  as 
may  migrate  for  citizenship  here.  Adherents  and 
Sunday-schools  included,  this  force  amounts  to 
more  than  30,000  souls.  Its  church  property  is 
estimated  at  1,591,167  marks. 

The  Italians,  Swedes,  Norwegians,  Bohemians, 
and  Danes,  In  the  aggregate  a  large  and  hetero- 
geneous body  of  people,  are  by  no  means  neg- 
lected. In  Italy,  Methodism  has  Churches  organ- 
ized in  Arezzo,  Florence,  Foggia,  Naples,  Perugia, 


NATIONAL  HOMOGENEITY.  291 

Pisa,  Pontedera,  Rome,  Forli,  Taranto,  Terni, 
Venosa,  Allessandria,  Asti,  Bologni,  Faenza,  Milan, 
Dovadda,  Geneva,  Modena,  San  Marzano,  Turin, 
and  Venice  ;  and  to  the  extent  of  their  influence 
upon  such  as  may  migrate  to  this  country,  the 
Nation  is  benefited.  In  Norway,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  has  thirty-two  preaching  sta- 
tions, and  able  native  ministry.  In  this  country 
no  considerable  settlement  of  foreigners  can  be 
found  which  Methodism  has  neglected.  In  most 
cases  it  has  pleased  God  to  raise  up  strong  men 
for  this  work,  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Among 
the  Indians,  in  the  Indian  Territory,  Oregon, 
Kansas,  and  Nebraska,  Methodism  has  been  a 
power  for  good.  The  Welsh  and  French,  in  dif- 
ferent places,  are  supplied  with  the  gospel, 
preached  in  their  own  languages.  In  Cleveland, 
Pittsburg,  and  the  coke  regions  of  Pennsylvania, 
the  Bohemians  are  cared  for;  and  twenty  mission- 
aries are  preaching  the  gospel  in  New  Mexico  in 
the  Spanish  language.  Arizona,  Nevada,  and 
Utah  are  occupied.  A  Mormon  magnate  was 
heard  to  say:  "I  should  care  but  little  for  the 
Edmunds  Law,  if  we  could  keep  the  Methodists 
out  of  this  country."  But  twenty-one  mission- 
aries, thirty-eight  teachers,  twenty-four  churches, 
and  six  hundred  communicants  are  not  there  for 
nothing.  Either  Methodism  or  Mormonism  must 
leave  Utah,  and  the  bugle  of  the  former  has  sel- 
dom sounded  a  retreat. 

American  Methodism  expends  annually,  in  the 


292  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

education  and  evangelization  of  the  foreign  and 
ignorant  elements  of  this  country,  nearly  one 
million  dollars,  and  the  practical  National  tend- 
ency of  these  labors  is  to  make  them  good  and 
loyal  citizens.  Since  our  late  Civil  War,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  freedmen  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  has  expended  more  than  two  and  a  half 
millions  of  dollars. 

It  is  thus  that  Methodism  is  to  this  country 
as  "new  wine  to  a  new  bottle,"  holding  itself,  un- 
consciously perhaps,  in  close  contact  with  all 
National  interests.  Professedly  and  really  it  lets 
the  Government  alone.  It  asks  no  favors,  not 
even  the  right  to  be.  This  it  assumes  and  as- 
serts without  thanks.  The  Church  is  mighty  in 
its  strength  because  self-contained,  isolated,  and 
undivided.  All  its  resources  are  concentrated 
upon  its  own  one  work — the  salvation  of  souls. 
Its  power  for  good  upon  the  State  is  a  thousand 
times  greater  than  it  would  be  if  it  meddled 
with  political  affairs,  or  had  incorporated  in  its 
organization  political  elements. 

Will  some  one  name  a  humane  or  National 
interest  which  Methodism  does  not  labor  directly 
to  promote,  or  a  wrong  or  an  evil  it  does  not  seek 
to  abate?  What  sink  of  iniquity,  like  the  Five 
Points  in  New  York  City ;  or  what  hell,  like  Mor- 
monism;  or  what  form  of  society,  like  the  half- 
barbarous  but  ever-retreating  border;  or  what 
mass  of  ignorance  and  degradation,  like  the  five 
millions  of.  freed  slaves, — has  it  not  persistently 


NATIONAL  HOMOGENEITY.  293 

assailed?     And  from  what  difficulty  has  it  recoiled 
or  retreated? 

The  benefits  the  country  has  received  from 
these  things  have  been  incidental,  and  are  the 
more  valuable  on  that  account.  Both  Church 
and  State  are  free;  and  marching  in  distinct  and 
parallel  lines,  they  are  the  stronger,  the  purer,  and 
the  more  beautiful  for  their  independence. 


"QjjOjjYE  need  the  rich  and  the  refined  and  the  learned,  but 
^*-*/  not  at  the  price  of  abandoning  the  poor  and  the  un- 
educated. We  want  a  ministry  equal  to  the  best  in  the  uni- 
versal Church  in  erudition  and  pulpit  talent  and  intellect;  and 
we  want  a  ministry  that  can  go  into  the  hamlet,  hut,  and  the 
lowest  cellar  without  overawing  their  tenants  with  its  respect- 
ability. How  can  these  two  be  obtained  and  continued?  How 
can  each  class  and  each  man  be  induced  to  move  contentedly, 
spontaneously,  and  eagerly  in  his  own  sphere,  unimpeded  by 
jealousy  against  caste?  Romanism  can  do  it.  Why  not  Meth- 
odism ?"  — WHEDON. 
294 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  TRANSITION  PERIOD  OF  THE  WORK  OF  METH- 
ODISM. 

|\  1ETHODISM,  in  its  essential  elements,  ad- 
•L^A  mits  of  no  change.  The  regeneration  of  the 
soul  and  spiritual  life  are  now  what  they  were 
when  Abel  was  converted  and  received  the  wit- 
ness of  the  Spirit.  In  this  work  meet  the  realms 
of  nature  and  grace,  and  both  are  fundamental  in 
the  scheme  of  redemption.  The  spiritual  element 
is  the  deepest,  the  highest,  and  the  most  far-reach- 
ing truth  of  Methodism,  and  it  must  forever  have 
the  place  of  a  head-light,  directing  the  way  of  its 
march  onward  from  conquest  to  conquest.  Wher- 
ever this  reality  is  wanting,  at  best  nothing  but 
the  shadow  of  Methodism  can  be  found. 

The  question  which  embraces  all  others  in  re- 
gard to  the  future  destiny  of  the  Church  is  this: 
How  can  the  spiritual  element  of  the  gospel  be 
made  the  most  effective  and  aggressive  in  view  of 
the  peculiar  condition  of  the  ever-growing  and 
changing  country?  Church  polity,  per  se,  is  of 
no  consequence  whatever.  It  derives  all  its  value 
from  the  measure  of  efficiency  which  it  gives  to 
the  provisions  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  That  is 
best  which  reaches  the  largest  number  of  souls 
and  does  the  greatest  amount  of  good.  The  pe- 

295 


296  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

culiarities  of  the  ecclesiastical  scheme  of  Meth- 
odism have  been  in  the  highest  degree  efficient, 
because  they  were  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of 
the  work,  and  they  have  been  adopted,  from  time 
to  time,  without  any  regard  to  theories  or  to  spec- 
ulative schemes.  We  think  that  too  much  impor- 
tance can  not  be  attached  to  the  adaptive  wisdom 
of  the  fathers  in  this  respect.  In  council,  the 
condition  and  wants  of  the  Lord's  vineyard  were 
ever  present  to  their  minds.  If  an  extreme  power 
was  ever  unselfishly  used  for  the  public  good,  that 
power  was  exercised  by  Bishop  Asbury.  The  itin- 
erant ministry  which  he  handled  for  more  than 
thirty  years  accomplished,  probably,  a  hundred 
times  as  much  good  as  the  same  men  would  have 
effected  had  each  acted  singly  on  his  own  respon- 
sibility. For  a  half  century,  as  an  agency  to  bring 
the  gospel  to  bear  upon  all  classes,  and  especially 
upon  the  lives  and  habits  of  the  backwoods  ruf- 
fians and  the  Southern  cut-throats,  the  camp- 
meeting  has  never  been  surpassed.  Thousands, 
and  perhaps  millions,  of  people  have,  from  one 
motive  or  another,  been  drawn  into  the  woods, 
where  they  have  witnessed  displays  of  Divine 
power  such  as  would  have  been  experienced  no- 
where else. 

But  the  great  success  which  attended  these 
early  labors  of  the  fathers  has  contributed  largely 
to  change  the  structure  of  society,  and  render 
them,  unnecessary.  Jacob  Young's  account  of  the 
organization  of  a  great  circuit  in  the  Green  River 


TRANSITION  PERIOD.  297 

country,  Kentucky,  given  in  a  former  chapter, 
may  afford  us  valuable  instruction.  There  are 
now,  probably,  within  the  limits  of  that  circuit, 
twenty,  thirty,  or  forty  Churches,  four  or  five 
thousand  Methodists,  an  equal  number  of  Sunday- 
school  scholars,  a  system  of  public  schools,  possi- 
bly an  academy,  and  an  educated  community  of 
thirty  thousand  people.  Could  Young  go  over 
that  country  again,  he  would  see  but  little  of  the 
past,  and  other  scenes  and  different  duties  would 
present  themselves  for  his  consideration.  The 
large  farm-house,  cultivated  fields,  thriving  vil- 
lages, and  herds  of  cattle  have  taken  the  place 
of  the  forests  and  of  wild  beasts.  Let  this 
fact  of  change  be  applied  as  an  illustration  of 
what  has  taken  place  in  the  whole  country  east 
of  the  Mississippi  River  within  the  last  eighty 
years.  The  world  in  which  we  now  live  is  largely 
made  up  of  Churches,  organized  societies,  educa- 
tion, refinement,  business,  politics,  reforms,  pub- 
lishing-houses, and  the  ubiquitous  press.  About 
all  that  remains  unchanged  is  the  topography  of 
the  country,  the  unregenerate  heart  of  man,  and 
the  power  of  the  gospel  to  save. 

The  problem  for  Methodism  now  to  solve  is, 
how  to  cling  to  this  work  of  regeneration  without 
a  shadow  of  turning,  and,  at  the  same  time,  adapt 
itself  to  the  nature  and  demands  of  the  age  in 
which  we  live.  In  all  its  history,  the  interests 
of  the  Church  and  the  good  of  the  country  never 
demanded  the  exercise  of  more  practical  wisdom 


298  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

than  now  in  adjusting  means  to  ends  in  these 
changed  conditions.  Peter  Cartwright  unwisely 
mourned  because  the  times  in  which  he  lived, 
with  its  form  of  Methodism,  could  not  continue 
forever;  and  yet  every  sermon  he  preached  and 
every  lesson  of  good  behavior  he  taught  camp- 
meeting  rowdies,  tended  to  bring  about  the 
changes  he  deplored.  Occasionally  we  meet  now 
with  a  veteran  Methodist  who  longs  for  the  re- 
turn of  the  four  weeks'  circuit,  and  for  the  times 
which  have  necessarily  passed  away.  Not  long 
since,  we  met  an  ancient  lady,  whose  religious 
knowledge,  experience,  and  joy  consisted  mostly 
in  being  able  to  describe  the  kind  of  bonnets  the 
Methodist  girls  wore  when  she  was  young. 

Some  people  have  cherished  the  idea  that 
Methodism  was  raised  up  to  act  the  part  of  a  re- 
vival agency  to  the  old  Churches  of  the  country, 
and  that  when  it  had  spent  its  force  in  pioneer 
work,  it  would  begin  to  "decrease,"  and  that  then 
they  would  "  increase."  Regarded  in  this  light, 
they  are  resigned  to  look  upon  its  past  success  as 
a  providential  dispensation.  And  is  it  not  a 
fact — a  shameful  fact — that  in  some  localities,  for 
the  want  of  adaptive  wisdom,  it  has  served  that 
purpose?  And  we  acknowledge  that  in  every  lo- 
cality where  Methodism  does  not  adapt  itself  to 
the  condition  and  wants  of  the  people,  it  ought 
to  be  a  failure. 

People  who  never  forget  nor  learn  anything, 
are  inclined  to  sorrow  over  the  degenerate  times 


TRANSITION  PERIOD.  299 

in  which  we  live.  There  are  a  few  left  who  re- 
member the  ancient  quarterly-meeting,  with  its 
boundless  hospitalities,  the  great  sermons  preached 
by  presiding  elders,  and  they  think  the  glory  of 
Israel  has  departed  because  these  mighty  displays 
of  grace  have  not  continued  to  the  present  time. 
The  lack  of  adaptive  wisdom  is  the  root  of  these 
complaints.  It  is  for  us,  not  to  create  the  times 
and  seasons  in  which  we  live,  but  when  they 
come,  to  adjust  ourselves  to  them,  and  make  the 
most  out  of  the  opportunities  they  present.  The 
great  difference  between  the  past  and  the  present 
of  both  the  Church  and  the  country,  is  the  result 
of  the  legitimate  growth  of  both. 

We  have  referred  to  the  adaptive  wisdom  of 
the  fathers.  In  adapting  means  to  ends,  they  set 
us  an  example  that  is  worthy  of  all  imitation. 
They  indulged  in  no  fine-spun  theories  about 
Church  government;  but  the  practical  work  of 
spreading  Scriptural  holiness  over  the  land  was 
never  absent  from  their  mind.  What  experience 
proved  to  be  useful  they  made  the  most  of;  the 
impractical  they  promptly  cast  away. 

It  was  not  theory,  nor  any  special  demand  of 
the  Scriptures,  nor  because  it  was  their  aim  to 
build  up  a  magnificent  ecclesiastical  structure, 
that  they  established  in  its  two  forms  an  itinerant 
ministry — the  episcopacy  and  the  pastorate — but 
because  of  its  adaptation  to  the  condition  of  the 
country,  apparent  in  its  usefulness.  Asbury  had 
practically  served  Methodism  ten  years  as  bishop 


300  O  UR  CO  UNTR  Y  AND  ME  THODISM. 

before  the  organization  of  the  Church  in  1784,  and 
the  Church  organization  was  but  the  utilization  of 
the  principles  which  experience  had  demonstrated 
were  adapted  to  the  work  of  the  times.  We  may, 
then,  at  any  time,  without  sacrilege  or  impinge- 
ment in  the  least  upon  anything  that  is  essential 
to  Methodism,  inquire:  Is  the  episcopacy  of  the 
Church  at  the  present  time,  in  form,  exactly 
adapted  to  the  best  good  of  the  work?  Has  not 
the  growth  of  the  Church  rendered  obsolete  the 
expression,  "general  superintendent,"  inasmuch 
as  it  is  not  a  Disciplinary  term,  and  no  one  man 
can  see  all  the  Conferences  even  in  a  life-time? 
Does  not  the  expression  "general  superintend- 
ency"  express  the  true  idea?  Would  it  not  be 
wise  to  district  the  Conferences  by  law,  since  ne- 
cessity requires  it  practically  to  be  done?  Would 
it  not  be  well  to  grant,  at  an  early  day,  autonomy 
to  all  foreign  Methodisms,  allowing  them  to  sup- 
ply themselves  with  officers,  and  a  Church  gov- 
ernment that  may  take  form  according  to  the 
interests  of  the  countries  they  are  intended  to 
benefit?  Are  American  bishops  better  qualified 
to  manage  Church  affairs  in  Japan  and  China 
than  Wesley  and  Coke  were  to  manage  our  affairs 
in  1784?  Is  it  not  unwise  for  one  Nation — es- 
pecially a  young  country  like  our  own — to  impose 
its  form  of  Church-work  upon  other  nations?  Is 
not  such  policy  the  essence  of  Romanism?  Again, 
can  Christianity  experience  a  complete  develop- 
ment in  any  country,  and  produce  its  best  impress 


TRANSITION  PERIOD.  301 

upon  the  spirit  of  the  people,  if  propagated  by 
and  in  accordance  with  the  genius  of  a  foreign 
nation?  Can  we  explain  the  fact  that  so  few 
native  Americans  become  Catholics,  only  on  the 
ground  that  a  good  Romanist  can  not  be  a  good 
American  citizen?  Is  it  not  natural  and  just  that 
Governments  should  look  with  suspicion  upon 
such  subjects  as  owe  a  supreme  allegiance  to  a 
foreign  power?  In  asking  these  questions  we  care 
nothing  for  theory,  but  simply  the  adaptation  of 
means  to  ends. 

Similar  questions  might  and  often  should  be 
asked  in  regard  to  the  practical  working  of  every 
item  of  the  polity  of  the  Church,  and  the  law  of 
the  adaptation  of  means  to  ends  should  never  be 
forgotten.  The  developing  power  of  the  Church 
must  prove  itself  equal  to  the  growth  of  the  Na- 
tion, if,  as  "new  wine  in  a  new  bottle,"  it  fulfill 
its  mission.  It  can  be  neither  expected  nor  de- 
sired that  the  Nation  will  conform  its  structure 
to  any  Church  polity — that  would  be  popery ; 
and  hence  the  necessity  of  flexibility,  growth, 
change,  and  conformity  on  the  part  of  the  activ- 
ities of  the  Church.  The  country  and  society  of 
one  hundred  years  ago  have  done  their  work  and 
disappeared;  or,  rather,  developed  into  other  forms. 
Has  the  Church  kept  pace  with  the  Nation,  clung 
to  its  changing  phases  of  life,  grasped  its  spirit, 
comprehended  its  interests,  penetrated  every  de- 
partment, acted  as  "new  wine  in  a  new  bottle," 
and  thus  practically  fulfilled  its  mission? 


302  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

As  a  whole,  the  Discipline  of  the  Church  "as 
it  is,"  should  be  greatly  respected;  but  if,  in  the 
practical  work  of  the  gospel,  it  is  clearly  ap- 
parent that  any  "rule"  or  "regulation"  is  an 
embarrassment  to  the  work,  we  should  most  de- 
voutly wish  that  it  were  out  of  the  way.  As  a 
legislator,  I  should  have  no  more  respect  for  it 
than  I  would  for  a  spider's-web  spun  across  my 
path.  If  successful,  the  Church  must  conform  its 
work  to  present  wants,  as  in  the  past  it  addressed 
itself  to  the  conditions  of  the  past.  As  the 
Nation  is  passing  through  a  transition  period — 
the  old  disappearing  and  the  new  coming  to 
light — the  Church  must  do  the  same,  or  lose  its 
hold  upon  it. 

Incorporated  in  the  Church  are  all  the  elements 
of  success.  In  its  doctrines  and  primal  work 
there  is  stability.  The  conversion  of  souls,  and 
the  adaptability  of  the  gospel  to  accomplish  it, 
will  never  know  any  change.  The  polity  of  the 
Church  has  grown  into  a  piece  of  magnificent 
machinery;  but  if  regarded  not  as  means  to  an 
end,  but  as  a  structure  having  value  in  itself,  it 
will  then  become  a  useless  incumbrance.  It  will 
prove  to  be  a  clog  and  a  dead  weight  upon  the 
age  in  which  it  exists,  if  that  time  ever  comes ; 
and  the  sooner  it  is  swept  away,  the  better  for  the 
country. 

Only  the  one  who  fails  to  know  what  Method- 
ism is  per  se  can  regard  these  formal  arrange- 
ments for  its  propagation  as  Methodism  itself. 


TRANSITION  PERIOD.  303 

The  bishop,  or  the  General  Conference  officer, 
who  fancies  that  he  is  doing  fully  the  work  of  a 
Methodist,  though  he  limit  his  labors  to  the  run- 
ning of  this  machinery,  has  lost  or  forgotten  the 
true  spirit  of  his  calling.  If  the  Church  has  an 
office  which  places  its  incumbent  above,  below, 
or  outside  the  work  of  beseeching  sinners  to  be 
reconciled  to  God,  or  makes  such  work  secondary, 
it  ought,  at  the  earliest  moment,  to  be  abolished. 
When  young  in  the  Conference,  we  were  visited 
by  Leroy  Swormstedt,  Book  Agent  at  Cincinnati, 
and  we  feared  from  this  business  man — this 
man  of  money,  figures,  and  accounts — that  we 
might  be  treated  to  a  cold,  doctrinal  sermon; 
but,  though  many  years  have  passed  away  since 
then,  that  discourse  is  remembered  as  being  a 
thorough-going  revival  sermon — a  model  for  all 
preachers,  young  or  old,  to  follow.  One  Sabbath 
at  Chautauqua  we  sat  beside  a  distinguished  lay- 
man, whilst  a  Methodist  bishop  labored  through 
a  discourse  of  an  hour  and  a  half  on  the  Reason- 
ableness of  Christianity,  in  which  the  most 
shadowy  metaphysics  played  a  conspicuous  part; 
and  as  the  discourse  came  to  an  end,  the  layman 
quietly  remarked:  "I  wish  the  bishop  had 
preached  a  sermon!" 

An  evangelizing  gospel  is  what  the  people  and 
the  Church,  always  and  everywhere,  need.  Visit- 
ing the  laity,  and  praying  with  them,  and  laboring 
for  the  conversion  of  souls,  never  ceased  to  be  the 
overshadowing  object  of  Bishop  Asbury's  labors 


304          O  UR  CO  UNTR  Y  AND  ME  THODISM. 

till  he  ceased  to  live.  This  conception  of  Meth- 
odism, and  this  spirit,  must  remain  as  the  per- 
manent element  in  the  Church.  When  Valentine 
Cook,  James  Axley,  J.  B.  Finley,  Jacob  Young, 
Peter  Cartwright,  and  other  mighty  men,  were 
placed  on  districts,  they  went  forth  not  merely  as 
officials,  but  as  evangelists,  and  as  the  leaders  of 
evangelists.  Their  commission  from  on  high  was 
not  in  the  least  modified  by  their  office,  but  they 
still  made  full  proof  of  their  original  ministry. 
When  a  presiding  elder  shrinks  up  into  such 
small  proportions  that  he  can  stay  in  his  house 
all  the  week  till  Saturday  morning,  declining  to 
attend  his  home  prayer-meeting,  then  take  the 
train  for  a  quarterly-meeting,  be  content  to  preach 
to  a  dozen  or  so  on  Saturday  afternoon,  preside 
in  a  modern  Quarterly  Conference,  at  night  attend 
some  "order,"  then  go  through  the  services  of 
the  Sabbath,  take  his  thirty  or  forty  dollars,  and 
return  home  to  spend  another  week, — he  is,  to 
say  the  least,  not  exactly  of  the  Asburian  order. 
Such  a  man,  in  fact,  can  not  have  a  spark  of 
Methodist  fire  burning  in  his  heart;  and  he  has 
become  one  of  the  driest,  most  worthless,  and 
costly  pieces  of  timber  in  the  whole  structure  of 
Methodism. 

Every  Methodist,  high  or  low,  for  the  good  of 
his  own  soul,  needs  to  be  in  at  least  one  revival 
every  year.  The  beginning  of  Methodism  was  a 
revival — a  revival  which  has  been  felt  in  every 
part  of  the  world,  and  continues  to  this  as  the  re- 


TRANSITION  PERIOD.  305 

ligious  life  of  two  continents.  In  the  preserva- 
tion of  this  high  spiritual  temperature  of  the ' 
Church,  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  so  to  modify 
its  policy,  from  time  to  time,  as  the  exigencies  of 
the  work  may  demand.  Stability  at  base,  at- 
tended by  such  adaptive  changes  as  occasion  may 
indicate,  are  what  the  Church  needs  to  accomplish 
her  great  mission. 

The  age  of  Asbury  encountered  difficulties  of 
one  kind ;  this  age  is  called  upon  to  meet  difficul- 
ties of  another  kind;  and  of  the  two  these  are  by 
far  the  greater.  How  simple  was  the  work  of  a 
Conference  in  those  early  times.  Asbury  made 
the  appointments.  The  preachers,  in  the  mean- 
time, held  a  revival,  and  there  was  not  much  more 
of  it.  Compare  the  proceedings  of  such  a  Confer- 
ence with  the  Minutes  of  a  modern  Annual  Con- 
ference, and  note  the  difference.  The  law  of 
change  and  the  adaptive  principle  are  fortunately 
incorporated  in  the  constitution  of  the  Church. 
In  the  development  of  society,  as  new  interests 
have  presented  themselves,  the  Church  has  not 
often  been  found  blind,  careless,  or  indifferent. 
We  do  not  claim  perfection  for  the  law  as  it  now 
stands,  nor  infallibility  for  its  administration.  As 
a  whole,  we  would  not  decline  to  compare  our 
methods  with  the  methods  of  other  Churches. 
We  might  learn  something  to  our  advantage  from 
them,  and  they  from  us,  and  all  parties  would  be 
benefited. 

A  Presbyterian  minister  in  California  gives  the 

26 


306  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

following  plaintive  picture  of  the  operations  of  his 
Church  in  that  State: 

"Now,  as  relates  to  the  work  of  the  Board  of 
Church  Erection.  One  town,  where  I  preach 
twice  a  month,  had  six  months  ago  about  fifty  in- 
habitants; now  it  has  over  one  thousand.  We 
were  preparing  to  organize  and  to  build.  Every- 
thing is  done  here  on  red-tape  principles.  Now 
look  at  this  picture.  About  the  middle  of  April 
Presbytery  meets;  a  committee  is  appointed;  then, 
say  in  May,  the  Church  is  organized.  Now  we  want 
a  building  site.  One  is  offered ;  but  before  we  can 
get  it,  according  to  law,  (i)  a  Board  of  Trustees 
must  be  elected ;  (2)  a  certified  copy  must  be  re- 
turned to  the  trustees  (this  may  come  in  three  or 
six  months) ;  (3)  this  certified  copy  must  be  taken 
to  the  county-seat  and  filed  by  an  attorney.  Our 
county-seat  is  eighty-five  miles  distant,  over  a 
high  range  of  mountains,  and  the  cost  of  the  trip, 
aside  from  any  expenses  in  the  city,  is  $17.75. 
Now  we  are  ready  to  commence  a  petition  to  the 
board  for  a  grant  for  aid  ;  and,  if  we  get  a  grant 
at  the  end  of  twelve  months  from  first  commence- 
ment, we  do  well.  Now,  look  at  other  Churches. 
At  the  town  of  which  I  speak,  I  preached  twice  a 
month,  and  the  Methodists  the  other  two  Sab- 
baths. There  is  but  one  house  where  we  could 
meet.  The  district  had  outgrown  its  school- 
house,  and  is  building  a  large,  new  house,  and  we 
occupy  the  old  one. 

"But  I  found  when  I  went  there  last  Sabbath 


TRANSITION  PERIOD.  307 

» 

the  Methodist  preacher  had  telegraphed  the  elder, 
he  telegraphed  the  bishop,  and  in  less  than  two 
weeks  they  purchased  the  house,  organized  a 
Church,  placed  a  permanent  minister,  hold  the 
key,  and  we  are  left  out  in  the  cold.  Thus,  by 
their  incisive  policy,  they  accomplished  in  less 
than  two  weeks  what  we,  with  our  cumbrous  pol- 
icy, could  not  accomplish  in  eighteen  months ; 
and  what  is  true  of  this  is  true  of  every  impor- 
tant field  en  this  coast. 

"There  is  not  an  important  point  in  the  State 
they  can  not  reach  and  control,  or  desirable  prop- 
erty they  can  not  possess,  in  seventy-two  hours ; 
and  yet  in  the  East  the  Churches  wonder,  and 
charge  us  with  inefficiency  and  want  of  adapta- 
tion to  our  work." 

Too  much  of  a  disposition  to  "  stick  to  the 
Discipline  as  it  is  "  may  throw  the  Church  into  a 
rut,  and  make  Church  forms  an  end  rather  than  a 
means  to  an  end.  On  the  other  hand,  too  great 
a  disposition  to  change  would  be  equally  disas- 
trous. And  then  the  future  of  this  country  will 
be  characterized  not  only  by  wealth  but  by  schol- 
arship, science,  art,  literature,  elegance,  and  refine- 
ment. In  all  these  respects  the  Church  must  step 
to  the  front,  and  give  to  them  her  refining  and 
sanctifying  influence,  or  they  will  be  prostituted 
to  purposes  of  corruption.  Is  Methodism  invested 
with  the  ability  to  keep  burning  the  fires  of  spir- 
ituality, and  at  the  same  time  lay  its  hand  upon 
the  inevitable  arts,  elegancies,  and  refinements  of 


308          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

life?  Humanity  is  bound  to  move  along  these 
channels,  and  the  Church  can  not  remain  inno- 
cent and  abandon  any  class  in  society.  The 
wealth  of  the  rich  is  needed  for  educational  pur- 
poses, for  church-building,  and  for  the  support  of 
the  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  day.  Asylums 
for  the  unfortunate  of  all  classes,  well  endowed, 
should  be  equal  to  the  demands  of  suffering  hu- 
manity. That  Methodism  may  act  well  its  part 
in  these  respects,  it  must  throw  its  influence 
around  the  rich,  and  keep  before  them  the  wants 
of  the  people.  Wealth,  sanctified  to  the  good  of 
humanity,  is  an  acceptable  sacrifice  to  God.  This 
principle  should  be  incorporated  in  the  structure 
of  organic  Methodism. 

Art,  literature,  and  elegance  may  innocently 
characterize  a  poem,  a  painting,  an  oration,  and 
why  may  they  not  adorn  and  elevate  a  human 
character?  We  believe  that,  as  is  often  the  case, 
to  associate  refinement  and  taste  with  pride  and 
vanity,  is  false  in  fact  and  pernicious  in  principle. 
The  Being  who  painted  the  rose,  and  gave  man 
a  capacity  to  perceive  its  beauty,  must  be  a 
lover  of  beauty.  Shall  not  Methodism. aspire  to 
be  a  blessing  to  the  world  all  along  these  lines? 
Why  not?  If  culture  and  refinement  were  blotches 
and  stains  on  one's  character,  then,  of  course, 
these  and  all  kindred  things  should  be  avoided.  If 
ignorance  and  coarseness  and  vulgarity  were  vir- 
tues, then  these  should  be  assiduously  cultivated. 
But  who  believes  any  such  nonsense?  A  broad 


TRANSITION  PERIOD.  309 

and  intelligent  view*  of  the  relations  of  Chris- 
tianity and  humanity  will  clearly  reveal  the  fact 
that  they  should  touch  each  other  at  every  stage 
and  along  every  line  of  the  development  of  the 
latter.  Faith,  love,  humility,  and  every  Christian 
virtue  are  beautiful  graces ;  but  they  never  appear 
at  their  best  unless  associated  with  knowledge, 
culture,  and  elegance. 

The  complaint  has  sometimes  been  made  that 
Methodism  was  not  a  success  in  all  places,  espe- 
cially in  some  of  our  cities.  If  failure  there  be, 
whatever  the  cause,  we  are  sure  it  is  not  in 
Methodism  per  se.  Either  there  have  been  local 
troubles,  which  have  impeded  its  progress,  or  the 
law  of  adaptation  has  been  grievously  violated. 
In  either  case,  the  Church  should  master  the  les- 
sons taught  by  past  experience,  remember  that 
there  is  before  it  a  future,  and  start  again.  We 
know  a  city  in  which  Methodism  once  enjoyed  a 
vigorous  growth ;  and  as  it  became  wealthy  and 
strong,  the  ministers  there  stationed  unfortunately 
felt  that  they- had  in  hand  a  little  kingdom  of  their 
own — a  mine  that  they,  by  combination,  could  work 
for  their  own  benefit  and  use  for  selfish  ends.  Then 
it  began  to  wane  on  their  hands ;  and  now  where 
once  they  led,  they  drag  in  the  rear.  Methodism 
withers  in  the  hand  that  uses  it  for  selfish  pur- 
poses. 

As  might  have  been  expected  from  the  wide 
and  rushing  sweep  that  Methodism  has  taken, 
it  has  admitted  to  its  fold  many  whose  lack  of 


310  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

character  promised  nothing  but  betrayal.  Where 
it  is  known  that  there  is  no  "depth  of  earth,"  a 
harvest  can  not  be  expected,  and  there  is  no  dis- 
appointment. The  grand  characters  Methodism 
has  given  the  world  many  people  are  as  incapable 
of  comprehending  as  of  acquiring  or  imitating. 
It  is  difficult  to  lift  them  above  the  low  plane  of 
self-seeking  and  time-serving.  They  are  Meth- 
odists no  longer  than  that  Church  suits  best  their 
convenience.  As  they  have  not  the  character  of  a 
Methodist,  in  going  out  from  us  they  sacrifice 
nothing,  and  Methodism  loses  nothing.  The  phe- 
nomenon that  such  trifling  people  exist  must  be 
accounted  for — not  with  Methodism,  but  with 
Providence. 

From  our  present  stand-point,  it  is  easy  to  see 
that  in  the  near  future  Methodism  must  engage 
in  a  fierce  conflict  with  rum  and  the  corruptions 
of  wealth.  The  adjustment  of  the  Church  to  this 
work  should  be  made  a  subject  of  study. 

Events  of  vast  importance  are  to  be  unfolded 
in  the  near  future.  The  child  is  now  living  who 
will  see  the  population  of  this  country  not  less 
than  three  hundred  millions;  and  should,  in  the 
meantime,  British  America  become  a  part  of  the 
Union,  and  connect  us  territorially  with  Alaska, 
another  hundred  millions  may  be  soon  added.  A 
large  percentage  of  this  addition  will  be  composed 
of  the  half-civilized  Catholic  population  of  the  cities 
of  the  Old  World.  Our  colored  population  will 
have  reached  the  enormous  figure  of  not  less  than 


TRANSITION  PERIOD.  3 1 1 

forty-five  millions.  The  Mongoloid  tribes  will  be 
on  our  soil  in  large  numbers.  And  the  reduction 
of  this  heterogeneous  mass  to  unity  is  the  ques- 
tion for  statesmen  to  consider.  To  bring  it  under 
the  sanctifying  power  of  religion  is  the  work  of 
the  Churches.  The  case  is  all  the  worse  because 
of  the  bitter  and  persistent  enmity  the  papists 
cherish  towards  the  schools  of  this  country. 
Yet  the  coming  mass  of  humanity  must  be  edu- 
cated and  Americanized,  or  this  Nation  fails  to 
fulfill  its  destiny. 

But  in  the  great  battle  that  is  upon  us,  and 
that  is  to  grow  fiercer  with  every  passing  year, 
we  are  anxious  that  Methodism  should  know  its 
mission  and  accomplish  it.  Its  past  history  is 
honorable,  its  present  position  is  strong,  and  its 
future  is  simply  the  problem  of  fidelity  and  adap- 
tation. The  part  it  is  to  act  in  the  moral  world 
must  run  parallel  with  the  part  the  Nation  per- 
forms in  the  political.  Its  mission  is  the  higher 
and  grander  of  the  two.  The  forces  to  be  ar- 
rayed against  all  that  is  precious  in  American  life 
are  tremendous  and  complex  in  the  extreme,  and 
they  must  be  boldly  met  and  vanquished.  Other 
Churches  are  becoming  strong,  and  their  thorough 
co-operation,  making  of  them  practically  a  unit, 
is  possible  and  much  to  be  desired;  but,  in  all 
emergencies,  Methodism  must  preserve  its  own 
lines,  use  its  own  weapons,  and  ever  keep  on  the 
offensive.  As  the  post  of  honor,  it  must  ever  hold 
the  post  of  danger. 


"031  ND  unto  the  Jews  I  became  as  a  Jew,  that  I  might  gain 

<-^  the  Jews;  to  them  that  are  under  the  law,  as  under  the 

law,  that  I  might  gain  them  that  are  under  the  law;  to  them 

that  are  without  law,  as  without  law  (being  not  without  law  to 

God,  but  under  the  law  to  Christ),  that  I  might  gain  them  that 

are  without  law;  to  the  weak  became  I  as  weak,  that  I  might 

gain  the  weak.     I  am  made  all  things  to  all  men,  that  I  might 

by  all  means  save  some." 

3" 


CHAPTER  XV. 

METHODISM   ADAPTED   TO   THE    SPIRITUAI,   CONDI- 
TION OF  ALI/  PHASES  OF  SOCIETY. 

IN  the  progress  of  their  development,  nations, 
as  well  as  individuals,  move  from  one  stage  of 
the  inevitable  to  another  till  the  end  comes. 
Though  man  is  a  free  agent — free  within  the 
realm  of  duty  and  responsibility — yet,  in  many 
respects,  he  is  a  creature  of  necessity.  Above 
and  around  him  are  powers  which  largely  shape 
his  destiny. 

The  rough,  rude,  and  wild  form  of  society 
which  at  one  time  characterized  the  Mississippi 
Valley  was  an  inevitable  result  of  its  surrounding 
conditions.  Men  necessarily  conformed  more  or 
less  to  the  free,  wild  aspects  of  the  times,  which 
day  by  day  left  their  impression  upon  their  mind. 
A  man,  clad  in  the  skins  of  animals,  his  feet  pro- 
tected by  their  raw  hides  fastened  on  with  thongs, 
his  head  bare,  and  his  hair  a  mat  because  he  is  a 
stranger  to  the  use  of  a  comb,  introduced  into  a 
fashionable  drawing-room,  would  be  to  fastidious 
modern  society  an  unsightly  object;  but  such  was 
the  appearance  of  George  Willets,  when,  without 
an  introduction  and  a  stranger  to  everybody,  he 
appeared  in  the  Presbytery  of  the  Cumberland 

27  313 


OUR  CO UNTR Y  AND  ME THODISM. 

Presbyterian  Church  of  Kentucky,  and  delivered 
one  of  the  most  touching,  soul-melting,  and  soul- 
inspiring  addresses  that  ever  fell  from  the  lips  of 
man,  and  saved  that  Church  from  extinction. 
This  fact,  and  thousands  besides  that  might  be 
brought  forward,  prove  that  religion  condescends 
to  mingle  with  the  ignorant,  the  poor,  and  the 
coarse  aspects  of  life. 

To  what  is  called  taste  and  refinement,  James 
Axley  never  ceased  to  be  a  natural  curiosity.  In 
childhood  he  nestled  among  the  canebrakes  of 
Kentucky,  and  his  only  schooling  in  riper  years 
was  received  in  nature's  university;  but,  though 
unhewn  and  unpolished,  he  was  a  huge  block  of 
the  purest  marble.  He  combined  the  simplicity 
of  a  child,  the  tenderness  of  a  woman,  the  piety 
of  a  saint,  and  the  courage  of  a  lion.  After 
preaching  a  marvelous  sermon  at  Chillicothe, 
Ohio,  Governor  Tiffin  invited  him  home  to  dinner. 
After  grace  was  said,  without  waiting  to  be  helped, 
he  took  from  a  plate  before  him  the  leg  of  a  fowl, 
and  holding  it  in  his  fingers,  ate  the  meat  and 
threw  the  bones  out  on  the  carpet  to  the  dog,  just 
as  he  would  have  done  in  his  father's  floorless 
cabin  in  Kentucky,  where  he  grew  "to  manhood. 
Peter  Cartwright  was  at  the  table,  and  there  would 
have  been  a  roar  of  laughter ;  but  the  masterly 
eyes  of  Mrs.  Tiffin  ruled  the  feast,  and  sobriety 
was  preserved.  Here  was  a  combination  of  in- 
tellect, humanity,  rudeness,  and  piety,  that  was 
seldom  witnessed  in  such  perfection  anywhere. 


SOCIAL  ADAPTATION.  315 

In  political  times,  when  "hurrahing"  for  can- 
didates for  office  was  the  order  of  the  day,  a  rough, 
ignorant  young  man,  at  a  camp-meeting  in  Ohio, 
was  powerfully  converted,  and  as  the  best  he  could 
do  to  make  his  feelings  known,  he  leaped  upon  a 
bench,  and  shouted,  "Hurrah  for  Jesus!"  "Hurrah 
for  Jesus!"  and  who  will  say  that  man  or  angel 
ever  offered  to  God  more  acceptable  praise? 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  knock-down, 
drag-out  camp-meetings,  with  which  Cartwright, 
Finley,  Dimmitt,  and  others,  were  so  familiar, 
along  the  border  ?  Did  the  Holy  Spirit  deign  to 
mingle  its  hallowed  influences  in  such  scenes  of 
boisterous  rudeness?  At  a  camp-meeting,  where 
Bishops  Asbury  and  McKendree  were  present,  the 
strong  arm  of  a  layman  had  laid  a  group  of  ruf- 
fians in  a  heap,  the  leader  of  the  gang  at  the 
bottom ;  and  after  they  had  been  bound,  and  order 
restored,  Asbury  ascended  the  pulpit  to  preach. 
He  prefaced  the  services  by  saying:  "It  must  be 
confessed  that  all  our  Methodist  people  are  not 
yet  sanctified,  and  this  fact  should  be  understood 
by  the  disturbers  of  the  peace,  as  it  is  sometimes 
dangerous  to  trifle  with  them."  The  sermon 
which  followed  was  attended  with  the  demonstra- 
tion of  the  Spirit  and  power  sent  down  from 
heaven.  One  of  the  most  effectual  sermons — re- 
•sulting  in  many  conversions — Cartwright  ever 
preached,  was  at  a  camp-meeting  on  a  Sunday 
night,  after  he  had  spent  a  large  part  of  the  day 
in  conquering  a  peace  with  a  band  of  ruffians. 


316  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

Before  his  hammer-like  fist,  some  of  them,  during 
the  day,  had  fallen  to  the  ground  as  dead  men. 
Again  we  ask,  Is  it  possible  for  religion  to  exist 
in  the  midst  of  such  rudeness?  If  not,  should 
the  people  of  the  border  have  been  abandoned  to 
their  follies  and  crimes?  We  hesitate  not  in  say- 
ing that  Methodism  did  well  in  adapting  itself  to 
their  condition;  and  that  in  the  best,  if  not  the 
only,  way  possible,  it  saved  them  from  bar- 
barism. 

The  law  of  the  inevitable  is  still  upon  the 
people  of  this  country.  Wealth,  education,  and 
elegance  were  as  sure  to  come  as  that  the  years 
rolled  by.  Pioneer  and  backwoods'  times  are 
everywhere  passing  away,  and  with  them  their 
rude  conditions  of  life.  Those  days  had  their 
peculiar  glories,  but  they  could  not  continue  for- 
ever; and  our  strong  attachments  for  the  past 
should  not  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  the  duties 
and  responsibilities  of  the  present  and  of  the  fu- 
ture. Whilst  Methodism  retains  a  sacred  recol- 
lection of  its  early  triumphs,  is  it  not  in  a  position 
to  bend  like  energies  and  equal  ability  upon  the 
duties  of  to-day,  and  to  such  further  duties  as 
changes  in  society  will  bring  to  its  door?  There 
is  no  human  element  or  interest  in  the  Nation, 
which  is  not  positively  criminal  and  injurious, 
that  is  not  entitled  to  the  sanction  and  elevating 
support  of  religion.  Education  may  take  on  a 
religious  or  an  infidel  cast,  and  such  should  be 
the  activity  of  religious  educators  that  the  infidel 


SOCIAL  ADAPTATION.  317 

will  find  but  little  that  he  can  do.  All  other  re- 
finements and  elegancies  should  have,  as  their 
crowning  excellency,  the  beauty  of  Christian 
graces. 

But  some  well-meaning  people  are  far  more 
likely  to  associate  religion  with  poverty  than  with 
wealth,  with  rags  than  with  robes,  with  ignorance 
than  scholarship,  with  boorishness  than  refine- 
ment, with  coarseness  than  elegance, — mistaking 
outward  appearances  for  the  inward  graces  of  the 
heart.  They  mistake  an  exquisite  taste,  which  is 
partly  natural  and  partly  acquired,  for  vanity  and 
pride.  They  can,  without  the  least  difficulty,  dis- 
cover piety  at  a  border  camp-meeting;  whereas, 
in  a  magnificent  sanctuary,  in  which  refinement 
characterizes  all  the  services,  they  can  see  nothing 
but  the  pride  of  taste  and  art.  Especially  at  the 
present  time,  whilst  the  Church  is  passing  through 
its  transition  period  from  frontier  rudeness  and 
poverty  to  wealth  and  culture,  views  and  feelings 
may  be  greatly  mixed — some  cherishing  the  no- 
tion that  every  Christian  should  take  Lazarus  as 
a  model;  and  if  a  man  is  not  a  Lazarus,  he  must 
be  the  worldly,  heartless,  godless,  rich  man. 

But  all  such  crude  notions  will  shortly  be  out- 
grown. They  will  depart  with  the  departing 
times,  and  the  Church  will  be  free  to  address  all 
her  energies  to  the  momentous  present,  and  pre- 
pare for  the  responsibilities  of  the  new  future. 
What  that  future  will  be,  the  present  condition  of 
the  country  reveals  with  sufficient  clearness.  If 


31 8  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

true  to  itself  and  to  its  mission,  the  Methodism 
of  the  future  will  grapple  with  all  its  questions 
and  interests  in  the  same  practical  and  energetic 
way  that  it  grappled  with  its  duties  in  the  past. 
Its  business  is  not  to  make  the  world,  nor  make 
society,  but  to  take  both  as  it  finds  them,  and 
give  to  them  the  spiritual  power  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  The  rudeness  of  the  past  our  fathers 
deprecated,  but  endured;  the  refinements  of  the 
future  we  should  hail  with  delight,  and  give 
to  them  the  purity  and  elevation  of  Christian 
virtues. 

When  an  evil  is  called  good,  society  must  suf- 
fer as  a  consequence,  and  the  calamity  is  nearly 
or  quite  as  great  when  a  good  is  called  an  evil. 
Whilst  all  forms  of  heathenism  and  Romanism 
have  put  the  ban  of  their  condemnation  upon 
things  that  are  perfectly  innocent  and  harmless, 
they  have  also  authorized  crime  and  elevated 
human  traditions  into  divine  laws.  Every  form 
of  civil  and  of  social  life,  from  the  most  primi- 
tive to  the  most  elegant,  has  its  amusements,  re- 
laxations, and  recreations,  and  these  should  be 
regarded  as  fixed,  necessary,  and  permanent  ele- 
ments of  society.  Chautauqua  has  approached 
the  question  in  its  own  bold  and  practical  way. 
Time  and  room  in  abundance  are  appropriated  to 
amusement  and  recreation.  Track  and  field  ath- 
letics receive  special  attention.  Tennis  courts 
and  croquet  are  open  all  the  season.  A  tourna- 
ment is  held  in  August.  Match  games  are  fre- 


SOCIAL  ADAPTATION.  319 

quently  played  between  base-ball  nines.  Eight- 
oared  crews  are  formed  and  trained  by  college 
boating  men.  The  bathing  beach  is  perfectly 
safe.  Light  cedar  boats,  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
River  pattern,  are  kept  for  rent  at  reasonable 
rates.  Boating  on  the  lake  is  found  to  be  a  great 
luxury,  especially  by  the  ladies.  With  a  little  ex- 
perience they  become  expert  with  the  oar.  When 
not  absorbing  and  bewitching,  coming  in  between 
Christ  and  the  soul,  they  should  receive  the  sanc- 
tion of  religion,  and  form  in  part  the  joy  of  the 
household.  That  the  censure  of  the  Church  may 
be  salutary  in  its  effects,  it  must  never  be  visited 
where  it  does  not  belong. 

Judging  from  the  way  Methodism  has,  from 
time  to  time,  pushed  out  of  its  primitive  root  new 
shoots,  we  judge  that  it  must  be  full  of  vitality. 
Whilst  yet  an  infant,  a  publishing-house  appeared, 
which,  at  this  early  date,  has  become  the  greatest, 
the  most  vigorous,  and  fruitful  in  the  world.  In 
1818,  a  missionary  branch  shot  forth,  and  already 
its  leaves  are  used  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 
Later  a  Church  Extension  shoot  came  forth  from 
the  same  roots,  and  no  one  can  estimate  the  good 
it  has  done.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  the  cry  of 
some  four  million  freedmen  was  heard,  and  Meth- 
odism stretched  forth  another  arm  of  moral,  edu- 
cational, and  religious  service  in  their  behalf. 

In  the  person  of  Wm.  Taylor,  the  idea  of  self- 
supporting  missions  was  given  to  the  world ;  and 
should  his  precious  life  be  spared  a  few  years 


320          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

longer,  we  have  little  doubt  that  it  will  be  made 
a  practical  and  permanent  reality. 

The  present  method  of  Sunday-school  work 
practiced  throughout  the  Protestant  world  is  but 
an  idea,  which  was  made  fully  effective  by  Bishop 
J.  H.  Vincent,  in  the  Methodist  Church,  and  then 
given  to  the  world.  And  what  is  Chautauqua  and 
the  whole  Chautauqua  movement  but  an  offshoot 
from  the  same  Methodist  root?  Originating  in 
the  mind  of  a  layman — Lewis  Miller — and  liber- 
ally supported  by  his  generous  purse,  it  has  en- 
joyed the  full  benefits  of  the  organizing  genius  of 
Bishop  Vincent,  and  become,  at  the  end  of  seven- 
teen years,  one  of  the  wonders  of  this  age.  As 
compared  with  1800,  a  new  world  in  less  than  a 
century  has  appeared.  The  America  of  to-day 
never  had  an  existence  before,  and  the  question 
for  Methodists  to  ask  is  this:  Will  Methodism 
have  as  firm  and  intelligent  a  grip  upon  the  pe- 
culiar work  of  the  twentieth  century  as  it  had 
upon  the  work  of  the  nineteenth?  The  twen- 
tieth century  will  have  in  hand  much  to  do  that 
the  nineteenth  never  dreamed  of.  As  both  epochs 
will  soon  be  before  us — the  one  past,  the  other 
future — do  we  comprehend  the  difference  between 
the  two  periods,  and  especially  the  peculiar  duties 
of  the  present? 

Such  Methodists  as  delude  themselves  with 
the  notion  that  Methodism  was  called  to  be  a 
John  the  Baptist  to  do  preparatory,  pioneer  work, 
and  then  pass  away,  do,  to  the  extent  of  their 


SOCIAL  ADAPTATION.  321 

ability,  damage  their  Church.  The  work  of  As- 
bury,  the  conversion  of  souls,  is  now  exactly 
what  it  meant  in  his  day.  There  is  nothing  in 
the  Sunday-school,  or  Epworth  League,  or  the 
Chautauqua  movement  which  can  in  the  least 
modify,  or  change,  or  supersede  the  importance 
of  this  work.  The  strength  of  the  entire  Meth- 
odist body  depends  upon  the  healthfulness  of  this 
its  tap-root.  Where  the  country  still  calls  for  pi- 
oneering, it  must  be  done,  unselfishly  and  devo- 
tedly, as  of  yore ;  but  where  the  country  has  be- 
come rich,  and  the  people  live  as  princes,  the 
Church  must  remember  that  her  Lord  and  Master 
is  a  Prince,  and  not  forget  her  high  and  holy  call- 
ing. All  classes  in  society  are  alike  largely  the 
creatures  of  circumstances,  and  they  equally  need 
the  same  Christ  and  the  same  gospel.  When  the 
Church  shall  fully  realize  that  the  gospel  is  adapted 
to  the  spiritual  wants  of  all  people,  and  that  rude- 
ness is  less  suited  to  its  spirit  than  taste  and  re- 
finement, it  will  be  able  more  hopefully  to  ap- 
proach its  work  among  the  rich. 

Methodism  surfers  reproach  because  of  the 
divisions  which  exist  in  the  great  body,  and  yet 
much  of  this  censure  is  undeserved  and  misplaced. 
It  would  be  impracticable  at  present  for  a  General 
Conference,  as  a  legislative  body,  to  do  business 
in  which  all  the  branches  of  Methodism  in  this 
country  were  properly  represented.  Not  less  than 
eight  hundred  delegates  would  be  necessary,  and 
such  a  body  would  be  too  large  and  unwieldy  for 


322          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

practical  work  of  any  kind.  The  genuineness  and 
unity  of  Methodism  ought  not  to  be  affected  in  the 
least  by  the  variety  which  exists  in  its  forms  of 
government.  Romanism  has  preserved  unity  of  or- 
ganism and  doctrinal  teaching  by  suppressing  in- 
vestigation, and  denying  the  rights  of  private  judg- 
ment to  its  people  ;  but  Methodism,  throughout  the 
world,  has  preserved  doctrinal  unity  by  encourag- 
ing the  widest  investigation  and  the  boldest  crit- 
icisms. The  body  of  Christians  never  lived  that 
presented  to  the  world  a  brighter  or  a  more  lovely 
aspect  than  Methodism  does  in  this  respect.  The 
boasted  unity  of  Romanism  is  the  result  of  the 
mental  slavery,  degradation,  and  shame  of  human- 
ity ;  that  of  Methodism,  the  mind's  largest  liberty 
and  its  supreme  glory.  When  we  call  to  mind 
the  great  truth  that  Methodism  is,  per  se,  spirit- 
ual in  essence  and  work,  we  see  that  unity  now 
prevails,  and  that  the  divisions  refer  only  to  the 
details  of  its  practical  operations.  The  essential 
spiritual  facts  in  the  case,  such  as  constitute  the 
true  glory  of  this  great  spiritual  movement,  are 
mostly  concealed  from  the  public  gaze,  whereas 
the  outward  and  secondary  only  attract  its  at- 
tention. 

The  approaching  Ecumenical  Council  of  Meth- 
odists ought  to  consider  this  subject,  and  formu- 
late such  a  declaration  as  will  leave  untouched 
the  autonomy  of  all  Methodist  bodies,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  recognize  the  spiritual,  mental,  and 
doctrinal  unity  that  really  exists.  As  there  is  no 


SOCIAL  ADAPTATION.  323 

schism  in  Methodism  per  se,  it  should  be  pre- 
sented to  other  Churches  and  to  the  world  in  the 
beautiful  robes  of  its  unity.  We  are  the  more 
desirous  that  action  in  this  respect  should  be 
taken  at  the  earliest  moment,  because  of  the  in- 
fluence it  will  have  upon  the  relation  the  parent 
Church  should  sustain  to  its  mission-fields  abroad 
and  evangelizing  work  at  home.  If  organic  unity 
comes,  let  it  come;  but  it  will  be  the  result  of 
growth. 

If  what  we  have  written  about  Methodism  is 
of  any  value  in  any  particular,  it  is  in  what  we 
have  said  on  the  adaptation  of  means  to  ends. 
We  have  seen  that,  at  the  time  of  the  infancy  of 
this  Nation,  the  Presbyterian,  Congregational,  Epis- 
copal, Papal,  and  Baptist  Churches  were  not,  in  spirit 
and  methods  of  work,  adapted  to  supply  the  re- 
ligious wants  of  the  people,  and  that  Methodism 
was  made  to  spring  up,  as  it  were,  out  of  the  soil 
for  that  purpose.  As  a  consequence,  it  received 
its  cast  primarily  from  the  work  it  was  called  to 
do.  Lee,  with  his  Bible  and  hymn-book  in  hand, 
was  turned  loose  in  New  England.  His  practical 
directing  law  was  the  demand  of  the  work  which 
presented  itself  to  his  hand.  Could  he  revisit  the 
earth,  and  go  over  that  ground  again  as  a  minister 
of  the  gospel,  how  different  would  be  his  course! 
Instead  of  being  left  alone  on  Boston  Common  at 
the  close  of  his  first  service,  he  would  find  a  wel- 
come in  the  hearts  of  thousands ;  and  instead  of 
having  to  spend  some  days  in  a  vain  search  for  a 


324  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

preaching-place,  he  would  not  be  able  to  enter 
half  the  doors  that  would  be  open  to  him.  Would 
he  endeavor  to  restore  the  past,  or  would  he  take 
the  country  as  he  now  found  it  and  conform  his 
labors  to  its  present  needs  ? 

Well,  here  we  may  learn  a  lesson.  As  differs 
1790  from  1890,  so  differs  the  United  States  from 
China,  Corea,  Japan,  Africa,  and  India;  and  we 
should  never  make  it  an  aim  or  an  object  to  repro- 
duce in  form  either  our  Church  or  our  Nation  in 
any  of  those  countries.  We  are  intent  on  carry- 
ing and  establishing  there  the  power  of  Method- 
ism— that  is,  life  for  the  dead — and  all  beyond 
that  work  is  of  secondary  importance.  The  ex- 
ample set  by  the  American  Church  in  the  matter 
of  adaptation  of  means  to  ends,  should  be  followed 
to  the  very  letter  by  all  laborers  in  foreign  fields. 
They  should  study  the  character  of  the  people, 
the  structure  of  society,  the  national  spirit,  and, 
without  attempting  to  Americanize  these,  or 
change  their  ethnic  character  in  any  way,  bring 
them  under  the  power  of  the  gospel.  An  attempt 
as  a  primary  object  to  establish  the  machinery  of 
a  Church  of  any  kind,  after  the  Romish  fashion, 
will,  and  ought  to,  defeat  the  purpose  and  work 
of  any  mission.  v 

If  the  missionary  studiously  apply  himself,  in 
the  most  practical  way,  to  effect  the  conversion  of 
souls,  and  then  secure  the  fruits  of  his  labors, 
the  ecclesiastical  organization  he  needs  will  grow 
up  around  him  as  it  did  around  Wesley.  The  life 


SOCIAL  ADAPTATION.  325 

of  an  acorn,  in  its  development,  takes  on  the  form 
of  an  oak,  and  in  this  fact  we  perceive  the  action 
of  a  law  which  is  universal  in  the  nature  of  all 
living  things  and  beings.  Methodism,  as  a  kind 
of  life,  must  take  on  some  form  wherever  it  exists; 
and  as  Japan  and  Germany  differ  from  this  coun- 
try and  from  each  other,  we  may  expect  the  one 
Methodism,  in  the  different  countries,  will  organ- 
ize for  itself  a  form  of  expression  and  action  best 
suited  to  each  country.  British  and  American 
Methodism  is  one  in  nature,  and  yet  neither  could 
wear  the  other's  clothes.  Each  is  probably  the 
best  suited  to  its  own  climate,  social  life,  and  style 
of  work. 

If,  then,  we  grant  autonomy  to  Methodism  in 
Japan,  Germany,  Sweden,  and  other  countries, 
and  the  Churches  clothe  themselves  with  an  ec- 
clesiastical dress  differing  from  each  other  and 
from  that  of  the  parent  body,  will  they  be  any 
the  less  Methodists  on  that  account?  We  think 
not.  Wherein  Methodism  in  this  country  has 
made  mistakes  and  failed — has  been  as  "  the  clay 
which  marred  in  the  hands  of  the  potter" — those 
countries  may  profit  by  our  misfortunes,  and  be  a 
greater  success.  Not  too  much  authority,  not  too 
much  government  from  without,  but  an  abun- 
dance of  spirituality  within,  and  obedience  to  its 
laws  and  demands,  are  what  is  needed.* 


•Nearly  all  the  divisions  which  have  taken  place  in  the 
Methodist  body,  especially  in  England,  may  be  traced  to  an 
excess  of  ecclesiastical  rigidity,  suppressing  personal  convic- 


326          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

We  see  no  reason  to  find  fault  with  the  past, 
and  these  remarks  are  made  with  reference  to  the 
highest  interests  of  the  near  future.  Methodism 
in  Mexico,  as  a  mere  appendage  of  American 
Methodism,  is  made  the  victim  of  all  the  animos- 
ity which  that  people  entertain  toward  this  coun- 
try. As  an  independent  and  an  integral  part  of 
that  Republic,  and  the  conservator  of  its  religious 
interests  and  its  glory,  Methodism  would  present 
to  the  people  a  far  different  aspect.  Bound,  as 
Romanism  is  in  this  country,  to  the  authority  of 
the  pope,  Americans  have  reason  to  look  upon  it 
with  the  deepest  distrust;  and  the  same  prin- 
ciple applies  with  some  force  wherever  a  Church 
on  the  soil  of  one  country  is  subject  to  laws 
which  originate  in  another. 

But  have  we  not  in  the  past  cherished  a  lurk- 
ing distrust  of  the  capacity  of  the  people,  among 
whom  we  have  planted  missions,  to  care  for  them- 
selves? Do  we  not  look  upon  them  too  much  as 
if  they  were  sickly  infants,  which  needed  a  great 
deal  of  nursing?  We  should  not  forget  that  till 
a  people  reach  the  point  of  self-reliance  and  self- 
help,  they  amount  to  but  little.  As  fast  as  possi- 
ble they  should  be  left  to  think  and  act  for  them- 
selves. In  no  other  way  can  Christian  manhood 
be  developed  among  them.  It  is  only  through 
the  process  of  staggering  that  the  child  can  learn 


tions  of  duty,  and  spiritual  liberty  at  home.  Booth  and 
Bryan,  especially,  went  without  the  Church  to  do  for  human- 
ity what  they  were  not  allowed  to  do  within  her  pale. 


SOCIAL  ADAPTATION.  327 

to  walk  as  a  man.  American  Methodism  was  left 
to  itself  not  an  hour  too  soon  by  Mr.  Wesley. 
To  the  responsibilities  it  assumed  we  are  to  look 
as  the  human  source  of  its  immense  strength. 
No  call  after  that  was  made  for  either  men  or 
money  from  abroad. 

Then,  is  it  not  a  well  understood  fact  that,  if 
China  or  any  other  country  ever  becomes  Chris- 
tian, it  must  be  through  the  labors  of  its  own 
people?  That  Christianity  must,  as  it  were,  be- 
come indigenous,  and  grow  up  out  of  its  own 
soil;  be  watered  by  its  tears;  and  that  one 
country  can  never  impose  upon  another  country 
its  form  of  religion?  It  is  largely  the  operation 
ot  this  law  which  has  saved  this  country  from  the 
curse  of  Romanism,  and  which  will  protect  us  in 
the  future  from  the  grasp  of  its  power. 

In  many  respects  the  Chinese  have  given  proof 
of  good  capacity  for  scholarship,  government,  war, 
business,  and  trade;  and  if  thoroughly  converted 
and  instructed  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  we 
an  see  no  reason  why  the  affairs  of  the  Church 
should  not  be  intrusted  to  their  hands.  If  they 
can  act  a  man's  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  world, 
why  not  in  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  ?  They 
know  their  country ;  they  understand  the  spirit  of 
its  people;  they  can  speak  their  language;  and 
unless  there  is  some  occult  defect  in  their  char- 
acter, they  shoiild  be  thoroughly  trusted.  If 
Christianity  would,  within  a  few  years,  die  out  in 
China,  in  case  all  foreign  missionaries  should 


328          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

leave  that  country,  the  fact  would  demonstrate 
that  they  are  now  cultivating  a  barren  field ;  but 
we  do  not  believe  it,  and  we  are  not  sure  but  that 
the  increased  responsibility  which  would  in  that 
case  fall  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  native  con- 
verts would  be  the  best  thing  that  could  happen 
to  them.  The  proper  adjustment  of  all  these 
questions  is  to  have  an  important  bearing  upon 
the  future  of  the  Methodist  Church. 

The  latest  developments  from  the  root  of 
Methodism — the  order  of  deaconesses,  and  the 
Epworth  League — we  have  not  seen  proper  to 
notice  at  length,  as  they  are  of  recent  origin,  and 
have  not  become  general  in  the  Church,  or  of 
National  importance.  Both  branches  have,  how- 
ever, started  well,  and  promise  great  usefulness. 
If  they  shall  prove  to  be  vital  with  Methodist 
sap,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  their  success;  but 
if  they  are  human  contrivances,  or  mere  imita- 
tions of  something  which  has  existed  elsewhere, 
they  will  speedily  come  to  naught.  Should  the 
lyeague  become  a  success,  and  the  Herald — its* 
organ — gain  a  circulation  of  200,000  or  more 
copies,  Methodism  would  become  a  less  valuable 
harvest-field  for  other  denominations  than  it  has 
been  in  the  past. 

There  are  three  lines  of  work  before  the  Meth- 
odist Church  which  must  never  be  lost  sight  of 
for  an  hour.  The  first  is  the  thorough  regenera- 
tion of  the  soul  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  For  this 
there  can  be  no  substitute.  The  absence  of  such 


SOCIAL  ADAPTATION.  329 

work  in  the  Church  strips  it  of  its  mission,  leav- 
ing behind  empty  forms  and  dead  ceremonies. 
If  this  question  is  always  viewed  in  the  light  of 
Scripture  and  the  past  history  of  the  Church,  its 
importance  can  not  be  misunderstood? 

Then,  as  only  second  in  importance,  is  the 
adjustment  of  means  to  ends — of  labor  to  the 
times — to  the  condition  and  wants  of  the  country. 
The  fundamental  elements  of  religion  can  never 
change;  but  changes  in  society  are  always  coming 
and  going,  and  every  change  brings  a  new  want 
to  the  surface.  The  religion  which  brought  a 
man  out  of  the  gutter  and  poverty  and  misery, 
should  follow  him  into  his  palace,  and  be  his 
strength  and  solace  there. 

And  finally,  in  its  missionary  work  the  Church 
should  remember  that  the  nations  need  the  light 
of  the  gospel,  and  that  the  ecclesiastical  form  the 
religious  life  may  take  on  is  a  secondary  matter. 
When  we  have  done  for  a  country  about  what 
Wesley  did  for  America,  we  should  gradually 
withdraw  our  hand,  and  give  the  people  the  ben- 
efits of  self-reliance — give  religion  a  chance  to 
become  indigenous  to  the  soil,  and  not  remain  a 
foreign  importation.  The  complaint  of  the  pun- 
dits of  India  that  we  preach  to  them  a  European 
Christ,  should  be  silenced. 

28 


<<  yjjf^J'E  believe  in  the  headship  of  the  great  Redeemer,  in 
whom  man  is  divine.  Under  his  leadership  there  is 
'progress,' — a  progress  of  the  individual  in  knowledge,  ho- 
liness, and  fitness  for  an  inheritance  with  the  saints  in  light; 
a  progress  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  by  means  of  his  Church, 
to  a  universal  millennial  triumph ;  a  progress  of  the  world's 
history,  under  the  guidance  of  Providence,  until  its  consum- 
mation in  the  final  judgment  of  the  human  race  by  the  eter- 
nal Son  of  God."  — WHEDON. 
330 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  PRESENT  AND  THE  FUTURE  WORK  OF  METH- 
ODISM. 

IN  old  countries,  where  governments  are  despotic, 
society,  from  generation  to  generation,  remains 
about  the  same  thing  over  and  over  again  ;  but  in 
a  vast  and  rapidly-growing  republic,  like  the 
American,  change  is  the  order  of  the  day.  The 
old  is  ever  departing  and  the  new  demanding  at- 
tention. For  the  Church  to  become  stereotyped 
and  fixed  in  its  activities,  is  to  become  obsolete 
and  worthless.  As  our  country  is  advancing  in 
all  directions  with  rapid  strides,  if  the  Church 
would  retain  her  hold  upon  all  phases  of  society 
she  must  turn  her  back  upon  past  forms  of  work, 
however  glorious,  and  fix  her  attention  upon  the 
present  and  the  inrushing  of  a  mighty  future. 
She  must  never  forget  that  the  business  of  the 
nineteenth  will  not  be  the  business  of  the  twen- 
tieth century.  As  a  condition  of  entering  fully 
into  the  spirit  of  the  new  age,  and  grasping  firmly 
its  duties,  it  may  become  necessary  for  the  Church 
to  be  born  again.  Old  leaven  that  has  been  used 
has  expended  its  force,  and  is  good  for  nothing. 
It  must  be  cast  out.  As  a  new  lump,  the  Church 
m.ust  start  off  in  a  new  career  and  engage  in  new 
conquests.  What  is  valuable  of  the  past  can  be 

331 


332  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

retained  only  as  it  is  utilized  in  future  conflicts 
and  victories. 

In  this  matter  of  change,  Methodism  is  man- 
ifesting a  most  commendable  aptitude.  At  this 
early  stage  of  its  history  it  is  deep  in  the  work 
of  education.  Its  grasp  of  missionary  work  is 
world-wide,  and  there  are  Methodists  now  living 
who  expect  to  see  heathen  nations  evangelized. 
The  unfortunate  freed  men  have  found  in  Method- 
ism their  most  powerful  and  steadfast  friend.  In 
the  matter  of  church-building  and  Church  exten- 
sion, the  strong  have  contributed  many  millions 
of  dollars  to  help  the  weak ;  and  to-day  the  Church 
is  alive  to  all  the  interests  of  the  Nation,  spiritual, 
moral,  political,  and  commercial. 

From  experience,  the  Church  has  already 
learned  that  it  can  deal  with  nothing  successfully 
unless  it  make  each  item  of  work  a  specialty. 
"  Glittering  generalities "  accomplish  nothing. 
Clear  conceptions  of  specific  work  are  essential 
to  success.  The  Church  has  now  in  hand  the 
forces,  and  she  is  in  position  to  take  hold  of  any 
human  interest  which  may  demand  attention. 
As  a  part  of  the  Nation,  and  as  the  conservator  of 
its  highest  well-being,  it  is  called  upon  by  both 
right  and  duty  to  bring  its  influence  to  bear  upon 
all  the  affairs  of  the  Government.  Without  re- 
gard to  party,  the  good  is  to  be  openly  supported 
and  the  bad  as  decisively  condemned.  Should  the 
President  appoint  to  a  high  and  honorable  office 
one  whose  character  or  principles  are  condemned 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  WORK.  333 

by  the  best  part  of  the  people,  he  should  at  once 
be  made  to  feel  the  scorch  of  their  indignation, 
and  at  the  earliest  moment  be  retired  to  private  life. 
Should  the  Vice-President  give  to  the  country  an 
example  which  is  an  encouragement  to  vice  and 
profligacy,  the  press  and  the  pulpit  alike  should 
take  him  in  hand,  and  place  him  on  the  level  his 
conduct  merits.  Senators,  judges,  legislators,  and 
the  governors  of  States  should  know  and  feel,  be- 
yond the  possibility  of  forgetfulness  or  doubt, 
that  there  is  abroad  a  mighty  and  ever-active 
moral  sentiment  to  which  they  are  amenable. 
That  the  Church  may  exercise  its  legitimate  and 
full  power  in  this  respect,  it  must  belong  to  no 
party,  and  be  free  from  everything  that  looks  like 
political  or  Jesuitical  intrigue. 

The  only  antidote  for  the  corruption  which 
seems  to  be  inherent  in  politics  is  found  in  an  in- 
telligent and  bold  public  demand  that  the  right 
prevail — a  sentiment  which,  argus-eyed,  watches 
kindly  the  good,  and,  as  a  moral  Nemesis,  pursues 
the  evil.  The  Church  should  really  be  a  moral 
terror  to  bad  men,  who,  by  any  means,  have  at- 
tained to  places  of  public  trust.  As  the  Nation 
becomes  great,  and  the  affairs  of  the  Government 
complex  and  far-reaching,  the  ever-watchful  con- 
servative power  of  the  Church  should  be  ubiqui- 
tous and  constantly  felt. 

The  time  has  come  when  this  subject  should 
receive  the  careful  attention  of  our  keenest  and 
broadest  minds.  Annual  and  General  Confer- 


334          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

ences,  as  well  as  the  pulpit,  should,  when  needed, 
reproduce  the  thunders  of  Mount  Sinai.  Without 
mixing  or  meddling  with  party  politics,  the  Church 
should  place  upon  every  National  interest  the  im- 
press of  Christian  principles.  The  more  fully 
Protestantism  does  its  duty  along  all  the  lines  of 
National  development,  the  less  evil  and  un-Amer- 
ican influences  the  Jesuits  of  Rome  will  be  able 
to  accomplish  in  behalf  of  popery.  The  time  is 
near  when  Methodism,  in  this  respect,  must  arise 
and  make  her  power  more  fully  felt  than  it  has 
been  in  the  past. 

The  pressure  of  Church  influence  upon  the 
Columbian  Fair  should  be  such  that  the  author- 
ities will  clearly  see  that,  with  the  gates  open  on 
Sunday,  and  saloons  established  on  the  premises, 
it  can  not  be  a  success.  When  Christians  respect 
themselves  and  their  religion,  they  will  command 
the  love,  if  not  the  fear  of  others. 

The  evil  which  corrupts  and  afflicts  American 
society  at  the  present  time,  quite  as  much  as  any 
other,  is  technically  known  as  the  social  question, 
and  none  is  less  promising  of  an  early  abatement. 
Compared  to  this,  the  evil  of  intemperance  is  per- 
haps of  but  secondary  importance.  We  know  but 
little  of  it  for  the  reason  that  we  recoil  in  disgust 
from  the  investigation  before  it  is  half  completed. 
Whatever  treatment  it  has  received  has  been  ren- 
dered in  a  general,  indefinite,  and  ineffective  man- 
ner. Mr.  D.  S.  Moody,  whose  common  sense  is 
marvelous,  and  whose  means  of  observation  have 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  WORK.  335 

been  very  extensive,  is  credited  with  having  said 
that  the  places  of  ill-repute  in  this  country  have 
been  largely  supplied  from  Sunday-schools.  Now, 
we  wish  to  say  that  the  time  is  at  hand  when  the 
Church  should  give  special  attention  to  this  de- 
plorable feature  of  American  life.  At  present  we 
are  drifting,  and  dealing  in  aimless  generalities. 
It  is  important  that  there  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
this  subject  the  genius  which  made  the  pioneer 
ministry  of  Methodism  so  glorious.  It  calls  for 
the  study  of  the  statesman,  the.  shrewdness  of 
the  politician,  and  the  practical  wisdom  of  the 
divine. 

But  few  of  the  abandoned  can  be  redeemed. 
But  they  will  soon  be  gone,  for  with  them  life  is 
short.  The  overshadowing  question  to  be  asked 
is,  What  can  be  done  to  preserve  the  young  and 
innocent?  Around  this  point  the  rally  of  an  im- 
mense and  well-organized  force  should  be  made. 
As  the  Order  of  Deaconesses  has  been  restored  to 
the  Church,  is  there  not  here  a  field  the  women 
can  enter  and  do  a  vast  amount  of  good?  To 
begin,  it  is  necessary  that  special  and  universal 
attention  be  called  to  the  importance  of  the  chas- 
tity of  the  Nation,  and  then  formally  to  organize 
the  work  necessary  to  preserve  it.  Should  the 
Churches  of  the  land  enter  into  a  league,  offensive 
and  defensive,  for  this  specific  purpose,  the  effects 
would,  in  time,  everywhere  be  felt.  As  the  Church 
should  always  adapt  itself  to  the  work  of  the  times 
in  which  it  lives,  Methodism  must  arise  and  shake 


336          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

herself,  and  bestow  upon  this  subject  the  shrewd- 
ness and  the  zeal  which  has  characterized  its  action 
in  other  respects.  A  special  baptism  for  this  work 
may  be  needed.  As  the  conservator  of  the  Nation's 
morals,  the  Church  can  not  ignore  or  evade  the 
question.  Various  suggestions  come  to  mind,  but 
we  distrust  their  wisdom.  A  knowledge  of  the 
best  methods  of  action  can  be  learned  only  by  the 
experience  of  specialists,  who  may  consecrate 
themselves  to  this  department  of  work.  Preserve 
the  innocent,  and  in  ten  years  the  social  question 
will  be  practically  solved. 

The  relation  of  the  Church  to  temperance  has 
already  been  discussed  at  length,  and  it  is  only 
necessary  to  add  that,  in  all  probability,  a  great 
battle  is  pending  in  the  near  future,  and  that 
Methodism  must  retain  its  place  in  the  lead.  In 
the  center  of  the  Nation  a  column  of  prohibition 
States  is  in  line  of  battle,  and  their  position  must 
be  fortified  and  held  against  the  fiercest  assaults 
of  the  enemy.  This  field  of  labor  calls  for  all 
the  ability,  zeal,  and  boldness  of  the  primitive 
pioneer. 

One  of  the  alarming  phases  of  American  life  is 
the  prevalence  of  divorce.  It  is  thought  by  many 
that  the  very  existence  of  the  marriage  covenant 
is  threatened  by  it.  In  the  twenty  years  which 
intervened  between  1867  and  1887,  328,716  di- 
vorces were  granted  in  the  United  States,  turning 
loose  upon  society  657,432  divorced  persons.  To 
this  extent  divorce  has  abolished  marriage,  and 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  WORK.  337 

the  evil  is  increasing  from  year  to  year  in  nearly 
all  the  States  of  the  Union  with  great  rapidity. 
At  this  time  not  less  than  fifteen  thousand  di- 
vorces take  place  annually  among  us.  Probably 
in  every  hundred  divorces  ninety-nine  of  the  num- 
ber seeking  to  sunder  the  marriage  tie  have  met 
somebody  else  they  desire  to  marry.  In  such 
cases  something  must  be  done  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  the  law,  or  else,  on  the  mere  no- 
tions of  a  judge,  a  divorce  must  be  procured. 
What  complicates  and  renders  more  difficult  a  so- 
lution of  this  problem  is,  the  variety  of  laws 
which  prevail  in  different  States  on  this  subject. 
From  one  of  the  "  Present-day  Papers,"  in  the 
Century,  on  "  Problems  of  the  Family,"  written 
by  Rev.  Samuel  W.  Dike,  we  quote  the  following: 
"Out  of  the  total  of  328,716  divorces  granted 
in  the  United  States  in  the  twenty  years  from 
1867  to  1886  inclusive,  289,546  were  granted  to 
couples  who  had  been  married  in  this  country, 
and  only  7,739  were  from  marriages  celebrated  in 
foreign  countries.  The  place  of  the  marriage  of 
31,389  is  unknown.  One-fourth  of  these  latter  are 
reported  from  Connecticut,  as  that  State  does  not 
require  a  disclosure  of  the  place  of  marriage  in  its 
libels  for  divorce.  Now,  the  report  shows  that 
out  o,  the  289,546  divorces,  whose  place  of  mar- 
riage was  in  this  country  and  was  ascertained, 
231,867,  or  80. i  per  cent,  took  place  in  the  same 
State  where  the  persons  divorced  had  been  mar- 
ried, and  57,679  couples,  or  19.9  per  cent,  obtained 

29 


338  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

divorce  in  some  other  State.  The  migration  from 
State  to  State  to  obtain  divorce  must  therefore  be 
included  within  this  19.9  per  cent.  But  it  can 
not  be  even  anything  like  the  whole  of  it ;  for  in 
1870  there  were  23.2  per  cent,  and  in  1880,  22.1  per 
cent,  of  the  native-born  population  of  this  country 
living  in  States  where  they  were  not  born.  Of 
course,  this  last  class  comprises  persons  of  all  ages, 
while  that  under  special  consideration  is  made  up 
of  those  who  migrated  between  the  date  of  mar- 
riage and  that  of  divorce.  The  length  of  married 
life  before  divorce  in  the  United  States  averages 
9.17  years,  which,  I  think,  is  from  one-third  to 
one-half  the  average  continuation  of  a  marriage 
in  those  instances  where  divorce  does  not  occur. 
Careful  study  may  lead  to  a  reasonably  correct 
approximation  to  the  proper  reduction  from  the 
19.9  per  cent,  and  thus  give  the  probable  percent- 
age of  cases  of  migration  to  obtain  divorce ;  but 
at  present  I  would  not  venture  an  opinion  on  the 
point.  It  certainly  is  a  very  small  part  of  all  the 
divorces  of  the  country,  though  varying  in  differ- 
ent States.  But  the  necessity  of  such  investiga- 
tion is  the  point  it  illustrates.  The  discovery  of 
these  facts  alone  justifies  the  cost  of  the  invalu- 
able report  of  the  Department  of  Labor.  It  can 
hardly  fail  to  compel  the  study  of  the  problem  of 
uniformity  from  almost  entirely  new  points  of 
view  as  to  its  real  nature  and  place  in  the  general 
question." 

When,  where,  and  by  whom  has  this  evil  been 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  WORK.  339 

systematically  attacked?  If  ready  to  advance, 
has  the  Church  decided  upon  its  line  of  action? 
Shall  it  strike  at  the  root  of  the  difficulty,  and 
labor  to  make  all  marriages  wise  or  fortunate? 
Shall  a  special  effort  be  made  to  infuse  into  the 
marriage  covenant  more  of  the  religious  element? 
Shall  the  Church  take  a  stand  against  granting  a 
divorce  for  any  reason  whatever,  but  permit  in 
certain  cases  a  separation  ?  Were  a  second  mar- 
riage impossible  while  a  husband  or  a  wife  were 
living,  would  not  applications  for  separation  be 
reduced  at  least  seventy-five  per  cent?  Can  the 
marriage  covenant  be  preserved  only  on  this 
ground?  Can  any  other  policy  save  society  from 
hasty  and  inconsiderate  marriages?  The  early 
power  and  zeal  of  Methodism,  once  expended 
upon  motley  crowds  which  have  mostly  disap- 
peared, must  be  brought  to  bear  upon  this  ques- 
tion ;  and,  as  an  element  of  American  life,  it  de- 
mands immediate  attention.  Whatever  action 
legislation  may  take,  practical  results  can  be 
reached  only  as  community  is  brought  under  the 
influence  of  a  vital  Christianity.  A  special  bap- 
tism for  this  work  the  Church  may  need. 

One  of  the  demoralizing  and  disturbing  ele- 
ments of  society  is  the  still  unsettled  labor  ques- 
tion. If  left  solely  to  the  management  of  capital 
on  the  one  side,  and  labor  on  the  other,  the  con- 
test will  be  between  two  antagonistic  powers  of 
selfishness,  and  the  mightiest  will  prevail.  On 
such  a  basis  no  permanent  settlement  of  any  kind 


340          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

can  be  effected.  In  order  to  permanency,  a  sense 
of  justice  and  right  must  prevail  on  both  sides. 
Legislation  and  labor  combinations  may  help  the 
question,  at  times,  in  some  localities;  but  practi- 
cal results,  satisfactory  to  all,  can  be  reached  only 
by  the  conscientious  adherence  of  all  parties  to 
the  Christian  principles  of  the  brotherhood  of  man. 
The  capitalist  should  have  an  interest,  not  only  in 
labor,  but  in  the  laborer,  and  this  feeling  should 
be  freely  reciprocated  by  the  sons  of  toil.  This 
condition  of  things  can  be  brought  about  only  as 
the  Church  penetrates  mines,  enters  the  work- 
shops, touches  the  rich,  and  lays  its  hands  kindly 
and  gently  upon  this  great  national  interest. 

By  way  of  comparison  and  contrast,  for  pur- 
poses of  illustration,  we  have  had  frequent  occa- 
sion to  refer  to  Romanism  as  a  foreign  element 
which  is  in  every  way  antagonistic  to  American 
institutions,  and  further  reference  to  it  is  unneces- 
sary. The  part  the  Church  is  to  take  in  giving 
homogeneity  to  the  people  of  the  Republic  has 
been  considered,  and  now  we  wish  to  call  special 
attention  to  the  duty  of  all  classes  to  the  urban 
population  of  our  country.  A  glance  at  Lon- 
don, an  Anglo-Saxon  city  and  one  of  the  foulest 
blots  on  the  face  of  creation — indeed,  for  misery 
and  vileness  it  can  not  be  exceeded — will  show  us 
what  condition  New  York,  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia, 
Chicago,  St.  Louis,  and  San  Francisco  will  be 
within  a  century.  On  the  one  hand,  there  will 
be  immense  wealth,  the  wildest  extravagance  in 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  WORK.  341 

the  daily  affairs  of  life,  and  the  most  gilded  cor- 
ruptions; and  on  the  other,  the  most  abject  pov- 
erty, the  deepest  ignorance,  and  the  most  shame- 
less profligacy.  Whitechapel  fiends  will  abound, 
though  but  few  will  take  risks  in  making  their 
work  conspicuous.  There  are  in  London  to-day 
human  beings  (men,  women,  and  children),  enough 
to  found  a  State,  whose  condition  presents  every 
conceivable  aspect  of  degradation  and  misery — 
the  result  of  an  unconquerable  tendency  of  people 
to  crowd  together  in  cities.  Even  at  this  early 
day,  about  one-fourth  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
country  are  collected  together  in  our  cities.  The 
case  is  all  the  worse,  because  the  most  of  our  for- 
eign population  stop  in  these  places.  Less  than 
one-third  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  is 
either  of  foreign  birth  or  parentage,  yet  eighty- 
eight  per  cent  of  the  population  of  New  York  is 
foreign;  sixty-three  per  cent  of  Boston;  sixty-two 
per  cent  of  Cleveland;  and  ninety-one  per  cent  of 
Chicago.  In  the  aggregate  we  have  here  a  com- 
bination of  elements  which  are  to  be  dreaded: 
i.  Immense  wealth,  with  its  power  and  corrup- 
tion. 2.  A  still  greater  amount  of  poverty  and 
its  degradations.  3.  The  saloons — those  "nerve 
centers" — one  to  about  every  two  hundred  inhab- 
itants. 4.  Romanism — the  implacable  enemy  of 
American  institutions — under  the  direction  of  Jes- 
uitical priests,  the  agents  of  the  pope.  5.  The 
corrupt  influence  of  the  political  "boss."  The 
time  has  been  when  Morrissey,  Tweed,  Kelly,  etc., 


342  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

had  absolute  control  of  from  fifty  thousand  to  one 
hundred  thousand  votes  in  New  York  City,  and 
could  sell  them  to  the  highest  bidder.  Morrissey 
and  Kelly  were  devout  Catholics,  and  the  vast 
sums  of  money  put  into  the  hands  of  the  Romish 
hierarchy  attest  the  influence  of  the  Jesuit  over 
them.  The  boss  in  Tammany  Hall,  and  the 
priest  in  the  confessional,  did  the  work.  6.  The 
illiterate  and  ignorant  foreign  element,  unfortu- 
nately clothed  with  the  highest  privileges  of  an 
American  citizen,  and  yet  utterly  incapable  of 
using  them  for  the  good  of  the  country.  7.  Storm 
centers,  where  slumbering  anarchy  and  riot  are 
liable  on  the  least  provocation  to  break  forth, 
and,  with  bomb  and  bullet,  drench  the  streets  in 
blood.  8.  A  wickedness  which,  in  variety  and 
turpitude,  as  far  surpasses  the  crimes  of  the  can- 
nibal of  Africa  and  the  savage  of  America  as  civ- 
ilization, science,  and  art  enable  man  to  be 
more  competent  in  devising  methods  of  action. 

Such  is  the  field  of  labor  that  is  before  the 
Church,  and  it  is  anything  but  white  unto  the 
harvest.  Asbury,  Garrettson,  and  that  class  of 
preachers,  never  faced  a  work  so  great  and  so 
difficult  of  accomplishment.  What  were  scaling 
mountains,  fording  rivers,  sleeping  on  the  ground, 
living  on  hominy  and  venison,  and  preaching  to 
an  eager  and  willing  people,  compared  to  fighting 
the  saloon,  checking  the  fascinations  of  wealth, 
breathing  life  into  the  despair  and  remorse  of 
poverty  and  crime,  circumventing  a  Jesuit,  detect- 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  WORK.  343 

ing  the  wiles  of  a  "boss"  politician,  and  making 
American  Christians  of  the  millions  of  foreigners 
who  have  come  among  us  to  stay?  Great  as  was 
the  work  of  the  early  pioneers,  and  gloriously  as 
they  accomplished  it,  all  will  be  lost  unless  the 
Methodists  of  to-day  prove  themselves  equal  to 
the  work  they  have  in  hand. 

Now  the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not 
carnal — not  pugilistic,  not  political,  nor  military — 
nevertheless  mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling 
down  of  the  strongholds  of  the  enemy. 

It  is  necessary  that  a  mighty  will  and  a  per- 
sistent effort  be  brought  into  this  field  of  action. 
It  is  useless  to  ask  people  to  decline  to  become 
rich ;  or,  if  they  are  rich,  to  become  poor, — but  a 
rich  man  may  be  asked  to  be,  in  the  fullest  sense 
of  the  word,  a  Christian  citizen  and  a  patriot. 
We  may  point  out  to  him  a  work — costing  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  dollars — which,  if  done, 
will  be  for  the  good  of  humanity  and  a  blessing 
to  his  country.  If  we  fail  the  first  time,  we  can 
try'  again;  and  when  we  have  utterly  failed,  we 
will  give  way  to  some  one  else.  Where  the  re- 
ligious and  the  humane  elements  fail  to  influence 
him,  the  scientific  or  the  artistic  may  succeed. 
Somewhere  along  the  line  of  noble  action  wealth 
must  be  brought  to  the  foot  of  the  Cross.  When- 
ever a  man  or  woman  manifests  an  aptitude  for 
city  evangelism,  the  party  should  be  kept  in  that 
field  of  labor.  Here  we  shall  come  into  contact 
with  education,  intelligence,  culture,  refinement, 


344  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

and  elegance,  and  in  every  case  these  things 
should  be  treated  as  possible'  auxiliaries  in  the 
cause  of  Christ.  Earth  has  no  treasures,  no 
myrrh,  no  frankincense,  no  ointment,  which  are 
too  costly  or  too  precious  to  be  laid  at  either  the 
cradle  or  the  cross  of  Christ.  Whatever  element 
of  society  we  meet,  which  should  not  be  destroyed, 
should  be  made  to  contribute  to  the  uplift  of  so- 
ciety and  the  glory  of  God. 

First  of  all,  this  problem  of  city  evangeliza- 
tion must  receive  the  most  profound  and  prayer- 
ful consideration.  The  best  minds  and  the  most 
devout  souls  in  the  Church  must  become  enlisted 
in  its  behalf.  We  doubt  if  America  presents  to 
the  Christian  citizen  another  question  of  equal 
importance,  for  all  others  are  included  in  it.  It 
can  not  safely  be  relegated  to  education,  politics, 
social  influence,  or  municipal  authority.  In  the 
absence  of  the  evangelizing  power  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ,  there  is  no  ground  for  hope.  This 
power  must  not  be  confined  to  the  sanctuary,  but 
transferred  to  the  streets,  the  alleys,  the  market- 
places, the  highways,  and  the  byways  of  life. 
For  the  successful  prosecution  of  this  work,  the 
Church  must  receive  a  special  baptism  from  on 
high. 

From  these  considerations,  we  think  it  must 
be  apparent  that  to  be  successful,  to  be  to  the 
country  as  "  new  wine  in  a  new  bottle,"  to  main- 
tain its  grip  upon  all  phases  of  society,  each  dec- 
ade and  each  century  of  Methodism  must  adapt 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  WORK.  345 

itself  to  the  conditions  and  the  work  of  its  own 
day.  Methodist  pioneering  must  necessarily  de- 
part as  the  forests  disappear,  and  cities,  villages, 
and  harvest-fields  cover  the  country ;  the  coarse 
poverty  of  the  backwoods  yield  to  the  culture 
and  refinement  of  wealth  and  leisure.  These 
things  must  and  ought  so  to  be. 

But  the  change  which  thus  takes  place  in  the 
nature  of  the  work  of  the  Church,  does  not  lessen, 
but  rather  increases,  its  toils  and  responsibilities. 
The  sources  and  strength  of  evil  increase  with 
the  growth  of  the  Nation,  and  the  new  conditions 
must  be  attacked  as  vigorously  by  the  present 
generation  as  were  the  primitive  conditions  by 
our  fathers.  If  we  sit  down,  and  think  and  dream 
over  the  past,  and,  with  a  sigh,  indulge  the  idea 
that  the  former  times  were  better  than  these,  we 
shall  die  in  our  nest,  and  the  country  will  march 
on  without  us;  but  if  we  maintain  our  alignment, 
and,  with  unbroken  ranks,  hold  the  front  line  in 
the  march  of  progress  in  the  future  as  we  have 
done  in  the  past,  Methodism  will  remain  the  evan- 
gelizing power  of  the  Nation. 

In  the  meantime,  we  must  not  forget  that 
Methodism  is  a  development  of  spiritual  life  in 
the  souls  of  degenerate  men.  The  history  of  the 
conversion  of  sinners  will  not  be  written  till  the 
trump  of  the  judgment  shall  sound.  All  preach- 
ing is  empty  and  useless  from  which  this  idea  is 
excluded.  Christ  is  of  no  account  when  there  is 
not  a  sinner  to  be  saved,  and  the  Spirit  is  useless 


346          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

where  there  are  no  dead  to  be  made  alive.  These 
things  constitute  the  soul  of  Methodism,  and  a 
soulless  Methodism  we  do  not  care  to  see.  To 
the  spirituality  of  the  Church  we  are  to  look  for 
the  hiding  of  God's  power.  The  demands  of  the 
past  and  the  present  in  this  respect  are  alike. 
"Without  me,"  said  Christ,  "ye  can  do  nothing, 
and  ye  shall  receive  power  after  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  come  upon  you." 

Transfer  these  considerations  into  the  not  far- 
off  future,  when  all  the  public  lands  shall  have 
become  private  property,  when  pioneer  work  shall 
have  become  completed,  when  the  population  of 
the  country  shall  have  reached  the  enormous 
number  of  two  hundred  millions,  and  its  wealth 
shall  be  as  many  billions,  and  all  the  forces  of  the 
Nation,  good  and  bad,  shall  have  increased  to  an 
equal  extent,  and  inquire:  Will  Methodism  be 
then  the  same  power  in  the  great  Republic  that 
it  is  to-day?  If  there  is  truth  in  the  theory  of 
evolution,  it  might  be  invoked  to  afford  us  light  on 
this  subject.  It  is  clear  that  the  Church  of  to- 
day is  the  result  of  the  toil  and  the  fidelity  of  the 
fathers;  and  it  is  also  certain  that  if  we,  in  the 
same  spirit,  grasp  and  properly  mold  the  present,  a 
grand  future  will  be  the  consequence.  If  we  at- 
tempt to  turn  the  tide  of  events  backward,  and  do 
over  again  the  work  of  the  fathers,  the  present 
and  the  future  will  be  sacrificed,  and  no  good 
done  anywhere.  No  past  period  of  the  Church 
will  ever  be  lived  over  again.  It  is  as  impossible 


PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  WORK.  347 

as  that  the  mighty  oak  should  become  a  sapling 
once  more. 

The  growth  and  expansion  of  the  country  are 
inevitable,  because  subject  to  natural  law,  and 
there  is  no  reason  why  the  Church  should  not 
keep  step  to  its  progress.  With  the  increase  of 
its  millions  of  people,  the  millions  of  Christians 
should  multiply.  The  forces  of  evil  will  grow 
apace,  but  they  may  be  circumvented  by  the  agen- 
cies of  the  Church.  For  every  wrong  there  is  pro- 
vided an  opposing  blessing.  The  motto  of  the 
Church  should  be,  "Overcome  evil  with  good." 
And  will  not  the  time  come  when  some  organic 
and  specific  good  will  be  pitted  against  each  spe- 
cific evil  of  society?  Where  sin  abounds  grace 
may  much  more  abound ;  and  may  not  the  abound- 
ing good  abolish  the  evil? 

Such,  it  seems,  is  the  mission  of  the  Church. 
Looking  backwards  may  inspire  us  with  zeal,  but 
a  thorough  study  of  the  present  and  the  near 
future  is  necessary  to  well-directed  action.  At 
every  change  in  the  expanding  bottle  the  preserv- 
ing power  of  the  wine  should  make  its  presence 
felt. 


"  (3|*?  we  Believe  that  Methodism  has  been  wonderfully  hon- 
^  ored  of  God  in  advancing  his  kingdom,  and  with  God's 
blessing  is  now  performing  a  part  unequaled  by  any  other 
religious  body  in  evangelizing  and  saving  the  world,  these  are 
all-sufficient  reasons  for  our  existence  as  a  distinct  denomina- 
tion. These  are  reasons,  too,  why  Methodism  should  be  made 
to  do  her  best.  Let  Methodism  be  more  thoroughly  and  zeal- 
ously worked.  Improve  it,  we  should,  if  we  can;  but,  at  all 
events,  work  it !  work  it ! !  Let  every  Methodist  work  Meth- 
odism." — DORCHESTER. 
348 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

TO  FULFILL  ITS  MISSION,  METHODISM  MUST  BK 
TRUE  AND  LOYAL  TO  ITSELF. 

IN  a  former  chapter  we  have  referred  to  a  mis- 
take which  Luther  apparently  made,  and  which, 
with  superior  wisdom,  Wesley  avoided.  Luther 
gave  a  part  of  his  time  and  strength  to  the  preach- 
ing affirmatively  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Reforma- 
tion— justification  by  faith — but  he  was  never  so 
thoroughly  himself  as  when  dealing  sledge-ham- 
mer blows  upon  the  corruptions  of  popery,  as 
"the  man  of  sin."  He  was  not  only  exempt  from 
the  fear  of  man  and  devil,  but  he  hesitated  not  a 
moment  to  hurl  his  missiles  of  denunciation  in 
the  face  of  princes,  cardinals,  popes,  and  kings, 
whenever  he  thought  they  deserved  reproof  or 
needed  chastisement.  As  a  consequence,  the  Ref- 
ormation was  a  cloudy  mixture  of  the  evangelical, 
the  political,  the  ecclesiastical,  and  social  elements 
of  Europe  during  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
fermentation  touched  the  bottom  of  society,  the 
Vatican  felt  its  presence,  it  shook  every  throne  on 
the  Continent,  and  lasted  long  enough  to  form  an 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Then  a  reac- 
tion set  in;  and  as  popery,  infidelity,  crime,  and 
worldliness  were  rapidly  rendering  society  in 

349 


350          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

the     eighteenth      century      intolerable,     Wesley 
appeared. 

Wesley  rightly  judged  that  affirmative,  posi- 
tive evil  had  not  been  incorporated  by  an  act  of 
creation  in  the  constitution  of  nature,  and  that  in 
the  realm  of  redemption,  where  sin  had  abounded, 
"grace  did  much  more  abound."  Hence  he 
judged  that  the  wrongs  of  this  world,  crushing 
poor  humanity  down  to  the  depths  of  degradation 
and  misery,  could  not  exist  were  it  not  for  the 
absence  or  perversion  of  some  positive  and  possi- 
ble good,  placed  within  humanity's  reach.  In 
his  ultimate  analysis  he  reached  the  conclusion 
that  the  absence  from  the  soul  of  man  of  spirit- 
ual life,  leaving  it  spiritually  dead,  was  the  root 
and  the  cause  of  the  debasement  and  suffering  of 
our  race.  From  this  stand-point  he  could  see, 
with  clearness  of  vision,  that  though  learning, 
logic,  anathemas,  and  wrathful  denunciations  might 
be  hurled  upon  popery,  infidelity,  and  crime  to- 
day with  deadly  effect,  they  would  revive  to-mor- 
row. Such  policy  was  like  plucking  bad  fruit 
from  a  bad  tree,  and  leaving  the  tree  unchanged. 
The  evil  could  be  permanently  overcome  only  by 
bringing  in  the  fullness  of  the  things  that  were 
good.  Both  the  Wesleys  clearly  saw  that  the 
hearts  of  the  people  could  be  made  right,  and  the 
race  elevated,  only  as  the  purifying  power  of  the 
gospel  expelled  the  bad,  and  took  its  place.  The 
new  wine  of  the  Kingdom  must  fill  the  vessel  to 
the  brim,  and  then  hold  possession.  They  held 


METHODIST  LOYALTY  REQUIRED.         35 1 

that,  whatever  the  evils  of  the  world  might  be, 
there  was  enough  of  good  in  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  grace  and  providence  to  afford  a  full 
supply  for  all  human  wants. 

Such  was  the  basal  principle  of  Wesley's  the- 
ology, and  it  served  as  the  key-note  to  all  the 
labors  of  his  life.  As  a  result,  he  was  ever  on  the 
lookout  for  good  in  everybody;  recognized  it 
wherever  he  could  find  it,  however  small  the 
quantity,  and  endeavored  to  add  thereto.  He 
spent  no  time  in  waging  war  upon  either  the  dead 
State  Church,  or  the  cold  and  useless  Non-con- 
formist Churches.  He  did  not  attempt  by  de- 
nunciation to  expel  their  darkness;  but,  after 
pointing  out  their  apostasies,  as  the  better  course 
he  labored  night  and  day  to  bring  the  light  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ  to  bear  upon  them.  He  saw 
that  the  logical  argument  against  English  deism 
was  exhausted,  and  that  nothing  but  the  prom- 
ised appearance  of  the  God  of  all  grace,  according 
to  his  Word,  could  win  the  day.  This  the  deist 
had  a  right  to  demand.  He  so  fully  preached 
Christ  that  it  was  manifest  to  all  that  the  Chris- 
tian might  be  complete  in  him  without  the  aid  of 
popery.  Incidentally,  he  made  it  appear  that 
there  was  no  necessary  connection  between  them. 
This  conviction  was  made  to  penetrate  the  minds 
of  men,  not  by  a  negative  warfare  on  Romanism, 
but  by  the  affirmative  preaching  of  the  "fullness 
of  the  blessings  of  the  gospel  of  Christ." 

The  crimes  and  evils  of  the  world  were  pal- 


352  OUR  CO UNTR  Y  AND  ME THODISM. 

pable  enough  to  every  one;  but  that  they  might 
be  hated  and  abandoned,  they  must  be  seen  and 
felt  in  the  light  and  blessedness  of  Christianity. 
Working  aggressively  along  this  line,  all  the 
ground  taken  was  pre-empted,  occupied,  and  held. 
The  mind,  from  which  ignorance,  darkness,  unbe- 
lief, and  hatred  were  expelled,  was  occupied  by 
knowledge,  light,  faith,  and  love.  The  expulsion 
of  evil  was  effected  by  the  ingress  of  a  mightier 
good.  Christ,  received  by  faith,  rendered  unnec- 
essary the  intervention  of  pope  or  priest  in  behalf 
of  the  individual.  It  thus  incidentally  became 
apparent  to  thousands  that  distinctive  Romanism 
was  a  gigantic  apostasy,  and  deism  a  falsehood. 

Wesley  was  not  an  iconoclast;  on  the  other 
hand,  he  lost  no  opportunity  to  aid  the  State  and 
Non-conformist  Churches  to  the  full  extent  of  his 
power.  He  felt  that  he  was  called  to  lead  the 
hosts  of  God's  elect  into  the  fresh  development 
of  a  special  dispensation  of  grace,  and  place  the 
Church  on  a  higher  plane  of  spirituality  than  it 
had  ever  enjoyed  before.  His  experience  in  these 
labors  opened  to  him  a  new  world  of  spiritual 
activity,  and  shattered  much  of  the  ecclesiastical 
machinery  and  millinery  he  had  cherished  from 
his  youth.  In  laboring  to  bring  in  the  good, 
Wesley's  influence  upon  the  evils  of  his  age  was 
probably  a  thousand  times  greater  than  it  would 
have  been  had  he,  like  a  Juvenal  or  a  Luther, 
spent  his  life  in  attacking  them  directly.  As  it 
is  the  gospel  which  is  "the  power  of  God  unto 


METHODIST  LOYAL TY  REQ UIRED.         353 

salvation,"  lie  bent  all  his  energies  to  its  propaga- 
tion. Hence  the  wave  of  spirituality,  which, 
under  God,  he  set  in  motion  a  century  and  a  half 
ago,  still  rolls  on,  and  seems  to  prophesy  the  con- 
quest of  the  world. 

The  "  Dark  Ages,"  brought  on  the  world  by 
the  admixture  of  heathenism,  Judaism,  Greek 
philosophy,  Roman  mythology,  and  Christianity 
culminating  in  Romanism,  can  never  regain  its 
ancient  sway,  and  it  seems  impossible  that  the 
Protestant  Churches  should  again  lapse  back  into 
the  state  of  ungodliness  in  which  Wesley  found 
them. 

Then  the  policy  of  expelling  the  evil  by  bring- 
ing in  the  good  should  be  continued  till  the  king- 
doms of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdom  of 
our  Lord  and  his  Christ — not  that  we  should  re- 
main in  ignorance  of  the  arguments  of  the  infi- 
del, or  the  intrigues  of  the  Jesuit,  or  the  spread 
of  false  doctrines  of  any  kind,  or  fail  to  expose 
and  denounce  them ;  but  the  real  Christian  has 
better  work  in  hand  than  to  devote  his  life  and 
energies  to  the  negative  work  of  fighting  the  devil 
or  anything  else.  The  average  Romanist  is  a 
specimen  of  fossilized  ignorance  and  superstition, 
and  it  is  as  well  to  let  him  alone.  In  such  ranks 
may  be  found  once  in  an  age  a  regenerate  soul 
and  a  brother  beloved.  A  Jesuit  priest  is  an  ar- 
tificial structure,  a  mechanical  perversion  of  na- 
ture's work,  in  whom  little  of  the  human  and 
none  of  the  angelic  can  be  found.  Change  in 


354          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

him  is  as  impossible  as  in  the  spots  of  the  leop- 
ard. Let  him  alone.  Follow  Wesley's  example. 
Work  along  the  lines  of  the  affirmative,  and  dis- 
place the  evils  of  the  world  by  bringing  in  and 
leavening  society  with  the  good  and  the  true. 

We  are  not  in  the  least  alarmed  at  the  spread 
of  Romanism  in  this  country.  The  only  danger 
arises  from  the  low,  selfish,  and  unpatriotic  dispo- 
sition of  political  demagogues  to  use  the  Jesuit 
priests  for  party  purposes.  What  popery  gains 
in  this  country  is  twice  as  great  a  loss  to  the  Old 
World.  It  is  seldom  that  an  American  becomes  a 
papist;  but  even  were  the  superstition  spreading 
among  our  own  people,  our  counsel  still  would 
be,  Bring  in  the  light.  To  circumvent  the  Jesuit, 
"  get  there  "  first. 

It  may  be  an  encouragement  to  Protestants  to 
take  a  glance  at  Romanism  through  Romish 
glasses,  and  see  it  as  it  appears  to  them.  I  quote 
from  Dorchester's  "  Christianity  in  the  United 
States,"  a  most  invaluable  work : 

"  In  1857,  Bishop  England,  of  South  Carolina, 
in  a  letter  to  the  Lyons  Propaganda,  said:  'If 
there  had  been  no  losses,  the  number  of  Catholics 
would  have  amounted  to  4,000,000;  estimated 
loss  from  2,800,000  to  3,000,000,'  more  than  one- 
half.  Rev.  Robert  Mullen,  D.  D.,  as  the  result 
of  an  elaborate  statistical  calculation,  said :  '  Of 
the  number  of  Irish  Catholics  emigrating  to  the 
United  States,  one-third,  at  least,  are  lost  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.'  Archbishop  Hughes 


ME THODIST  LOYAL TY  REQ UIRED.          355 

said:  'The  people  at  home  [Ireland]  do  not  fully 
understand  the  position  of  the  emigrants,  thou- 
sands being  lost  in  the  large  cities,  while  in  the 
country  the  faith  has  died  out  of  multitudes.'" 
(Christian  Union,  August,  1852,  p.  251.) 

A  correspondent  of  the  Freeman's  Journal, 
June  5,  1852,  said:  "We  know  of  a  Catholic 
couple  who  settled  in  an  adjoining  county  some 
seventy  or  eighty  years  ago.  Their  descendants 
are  very  numerous,  but  there  is  not  now  a  Cath- 
olic among  them."  Numerous  cases  of  a  similar 
kind  are  given.  The  editor  of  the  Celt,  lecturing 
in  Ireland,  advised  his  countrymen  to  stay  at 
home,  assigning  as  a  reason  that  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church  loses  sixty  per  cent  of  the  children  of 
Roman  Catholic  parents  in  the  United  States. 
The  Tablet,  New  York  City,  said:  "Few  insur- 
ance companies,  we  venture  to  assert,  would  take 
a  risk  on  the  national  life  of  a  creed  which  puts 
five  hundred  daily  into  the  grave  for  one  it  wins 
over  to  its  communion ;  and  yet  this  is  what  the 
Catholic  Church  is  doing  in  these  States  while  we 
write."  An  archbishop  in  Ireland,  after  visiting 
the  United  States,  said  to  his  people  on  his  re- 
turn: "It  is  far  better  for  you  to  live  here  in  pov- 
erty and  die  in  the  faith,  and  be  sure  of  saving 
your  immortal  soul  and  going  to  heaven,  than 
to  go  to  a  country  where  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  our  race — our  Irish  race — deny  the 
faith."  (German  Catholic  Year-book.) 

Speaking  of  the  period  in  which  the  hierarchy 


OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

has  been  in  existence  in  this  country  (1790-1876), 
the  biographer  of  Bishop  Spaulding  says:  "We 
have  lost  in  number  far  more  than  we  have 
gained,  if  I  may  express  an  opinion,  beyond  a 
doubt."  I.  O'Kane  Murray,  in  his  "History  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,"  p. 
583,  says:  "It  may  be  safely  said  that  more 
Catholics  have  fallen  away  from  the  faith  in  this 
country,  during  the  last  two  centuries  and  a  half, 
than  are  to-day  living  in  it."  "As  to  the  Church's 
losses  in  the  United  States,  it  is  no  easy  problem 
to  solve.  .  .  .  The  earnest  student  of  history  is 
obliged  to  confess  that  it  is  very  large ;  but  how 
large  it  may  have  been  is  an  unsettled  question." 
In  the  Irish  World  of  July  25,  1874,  Ford  main- 
tained that  the  Romish  Church  had  lost  18,000,000 
in  this  Republic.  In  the  Catholic  Mirror,  of  Bal- 
timore, we  read:  "It  is  our  opinion  that  a  vast 
deal  of  unmeaning  stuff  has  been  talked  about 
the  progress  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  England 
and  America.  ...  In  America  there  have  been  a 
few  conversions,  but  they  do  not  amount  to  a  drop 
in  a  bucket  in  comparison  with  the  immense  losses 
the  Church  has  sustained." 

Why  these  losses?  We  answer,  the  moral, 
spiritual,  social,  and  political  atmosphere  of  this 
country  is  not  that  of  Europe,  and  especially  not 
that  of  Ireland.  Icebergs  in  tropical  seas  are  no 
more  out  of  place  than  Romanists  are  in  this  Re- 
public. In  the  absence  of  a  country  the  Irishman 
can  call  his  own,  and  love  inspiring  the  most 


ME THODIST  LOYAL TY  REQ UIRED          357 

ardent  patriotism,  he  has  nothing  but  his  Church, 
and  to  this  he  yields  his  entire  devotion.  It  is  his 
all  on  earth,  and  his  only  hope  of  heaven ;  hence 
the  double-distilled  bigotry  of  the  average  Irish 
Catholic.  In  this  country  he  comes  into  contact, 
among  the  people,  with  the  spirit  of  an  immense 
Americanism.  He  comes  here  to  stay,  and  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life  feels  that  he  has  a  country 
and  a  home.  He  is  born  again.  Old  things  pass 
away,  and  often  his  Romanism  takes  its  departure. 
The  more  thoroughly  he  becomes  an  American 
citizen,  the  more  loosely  his  popish  notions  hang 
to  him  and  the  more  rapidly  they  drop  away. 
Mingling  in  society,  he  learns  that  Americans  are 
freemen ;  that  they  worship  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  their  own  conscience ;  that  his  own 
form  of  religion  was  saddled  upon  him,  and  he 
begins  to  inquire  why  it  would  not  be  just  as 
well  for  him  to  be  a  freeman. 

The  terrible  struggle  the  hierarchy  is  now 
making  in  this  country  has  for  its  object,  not  the 
conversion  of  souls,  but  the  preservation  of  its 
subjects  of  foreign  birth.  Tins  is  the  key  to  the 
relentless  war  the  Jesuits  and  Lutherans  are  now 
waging  against  our  common-school  system  and 
the  free  circulation  of  the  Bible.  Country  or  no 
country,  poverty  or  wealth,  knowledge  or  igno- 
rance, virtue  or  vice,  it  matters  not,  popery  must 
be  preserved. 

Methodists  have  often  and  unwisely  regretted 
the  loss  of  a  form  of  zeal  which,  in  former  years, 


358          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

was  prevalent  among  them.  Once  a  young  mother, 
with  a  child  in  her  arms,  six  weeks  old,  would 
mount  a  horse  and  ride  ten  or  fifteen  miles  to  a 
quarterly-meeting  on  Saturday,  and  return  home 
on  Monday  as  gay  and  happy  as  a  lark.  She  was 
only  one  among  scores  who  had  had  at  the  meeting 
a  right  royal  good  time.  Such  exploits  are  now  out 
of  the  question.  And  is  it  not  just  as  well  that  it 
is  so?  Is  not  that  work  completed,  and  have  we 
not  other  duties  now  in  hand  of  equal  or  greater 
importance?  Neither  country  nor  Church  is 
now  what  they  were  within  the  memory  of  men 
now  living.  The  changes  which  have  taken  place 
are  legitimate,  necessary,  and  proper,  the  inevit- 
able results  of  prosperity  and  growth.  The  plastic 
and  adaptive  element  of  Methodism  is  now  prob- 
ably subjected  to  as  severe  a  test  as  it  will  ever  be 
called  upon  to  endure.  The  good  souls  of  our  Is- 
rael who  live  in  the  past,  and  can  see  no  glory  but 
the  glory  of  pioneer  days,  will  probably  die  mourn- 
ing over  the  desolations  of  Zion. 

The  immense  Methodism  of  this  country  is  the 
aggregate  of  a  multitude  of  small  classes  or  soci- 
eties, each  having  a  great  variety  of  small  home 
work  to  do.  As  much  good  may  now  be  done  by 
caring  well  for  a  class  in  the  Sunday-school  as  for- 
merly in  attending  the  quarterly-meeting.  The 
power  of  Methodism  at  present  is  made  up  largely 
of  those  little  but  essential  things  which  pertain 
to  small  classes.  Let  these  be  properly  cared  for, 
and  the  future  of  Methodism  is  assured. 


METHODIST  LOYALTY  REQUIRED.          359 

To  be  true  to  themselves,  Methodists  must  see 
clearly  that  as  a  Church  they  are  an  original 
structure,  using  an  original  terminology,  directed 
by  original  methods,  and  that  these  must  be  pre- 
served. At  the  dedication  of  the  new  publishing- 
house  in  New  York  City,  the  proposition  was 
made  by  a  bishop  to  change  its  name ;  but  "No!" 
responded  the  outside  world.  "You  have  made 
the  title  '  Book  Concern'  glorious,  and  now  stick 
to  it."  The  prime  glory  of  Methodism  has  ever 
arisen  from  its  peculiarities,  and  no  refinements 
should  ever  be  allowed  to  obscure  them. 

Let  us  learn  a  lesson  from  Romanism.  Its 
strength  and  stability  are  derived  largely  from  the 
fact  that  its  adherents  are  thoroughly  penetrated 
with  the  notion  that  the  pope  is  Christ's  vicege- 
rent on  earth,  and  that  this  pope's  Church  is  the 
kingdom  of  God  among  men.  The  emptiness  and 
blasphemy  of  this  claim  make  nothing  against 
the  effect  it  produces  on  the  mind  of  an  unedu- 
cated papist.  In  engraving  this  conviction  on  the 
mind  of  the  ignorant,  the  Romish  priesthood  has 
achieved  its  greatest  victory  and  degraded  human- 
ity the  most.  One  of  the  weak  points  of  Meth- 
odism has  been  the  failure  of  its  adherents,  laity 
and  clergy,  to  perceive  clearly  its  place  in  the  or- 
der of  Providence,  and,  as  a  consequence,  they 
have  held  lightly  to  the  virtue  of  loyalty  to  its 
mission.  If  the  facts  justify  the  claim  we  make — 
namely,  that  Methodism  was  raised  up  by  a  spe- 
cial Providence  to  be  to  the  great  Republic  what 


360          OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

"new  wine  is  to  a  new  bottle" — its  position,  hon- 
ors, calling,  and  responsibility  can  not  be  too  well 
understood.  Out  of  such  a  palpable  fact  the  ut- 
most should  be  made.  Every  Methodist  should 
be  invested  with  the  peculiar  power  which  is  al- 
ways consciously  connected  with  a  providential 
allotment.  The  element  of  the  divine  then  en- 
ters into  the  case,  and  places  upon  Church  mem- 
bership the  signet  of  Omnipotence.  Were  the 
Church  a  mere  human  arrangement,  we  could 
shift  sail  and  manipulate  its  affairs  to  suit  our- 
selves ;  but  since  it  is  a  special  dispensation  of 
grace  among  men,  we  are  required  to  recognize 
in  our  privileges  and  duties  a  divine  authority. 
Asbury,  Garrettson,  and  the  founders  of  Method- 
ism, seem  never  to  have  had  a  doubt  that  the 
great  Head  of  the  Church  required  of  them  the 
work  they  had  in  hands.  To  have  forsaken  Meth- 
odism would  have  been  a  dire  apostasy.  Their 
conscience  would  forever  have  upbraided  them  as 
traitors  to  God  and  to  duty. 

Between  Methodism  and  popery  there  is  there- 
fore this  difference:  Popery  derives  immense 
strength  from  the  fiction  of  the  vicegerency  of 
the  pope  because  accepted  by  its  votaries  as  true, 
though  the  proof  against  the  validity  of  such 
claim  is  as  clear  and  conclusive  as  the  prevalence 
of  enormous  crimes  on  the  part  of  popes '  could 
make  it.  In  Methodism  there  is  a  clearly  mani- 
fested truth  of  equal  potency — the  special  inter- 
position of  God — which  has  been  allowed  to  slum- 


METHODIST  LOYALTY  REQUIRED.         361 

bet  unnoticed  and  unused.  The  proof  of  the  va- 
lidity of  the  claims  we  set  up  for  Methodism  is 
based  upon  the  display  of  as  pure  and  high  spir- 
itual elements  among  men  as  ever  appeared  in 
human  history. 

On  this  ground  the  Church  has  been  weak, 
whereas  it  might  have  been  strong.  Its  ministers 
have  seen  probably  not  less  than  a  million  con- 
verts go  from  her  altars  to  other  communions, 
and  apparently  they  followed  them  with  blessings 
of  absolute  approval.  The  divine  specialties  of 
Methodism,  and  its  consequent  claims,  were  wholly 
ignored.  A  short  time  since,  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister, whom  we  know  well,  was  asked:  "Are  you 
having  any  special  services?"  "O  no;  I  never 
do.  Our  Methodist  neighbors  always  have  their 
annual  series  of  extra  meetings.  I  seldom  at- 
tend, but  always  know  what  is  going  on.  I  then 
organize  among  my  elders  and  women  a  still  hunt; 
and  when  the  spoils  are  divided,  I  always  have  my 
share  in  both  quantity  and  quality."  It  is,  we 
hesitate  not  to  say,  a  shame  and  a  disgrace  to  the 
Methodist  preacher  and  Church  which  allow  such 
meanness  to  pass  unrebuked. 

And  even  unto  this  day,  if  a  Methodist  preacher 
is  eager  to  see  in  the  Advocate  family  a  sketch  of 
his  life,  and  a  description  of  his  piety,  genius,  and 
scholarship,  written  in  the  most  glowing  and 
eulogistic  terms,  he  has  only  to  withdraw  from 
the  Church,  and  enter  some  field  of  labor  where 
the  hardships  of  the  itinerancy  are  unknown. 

31 


362  OUR  COUNTRY  AND  METHODISM. 

We  would,  however,  rather  by  far  make  a  record 
of  this  excess  of  slushy  charity  and  gushing  gen- 
erosity, than  be  compelled  to  blush  with  shame 
at  one  act  of  persecution,  or  one  word  of  bitter- 
ness. Our  feeling  for  such  deserters  is  that  of 
dignified  regret;  touched  perhaps  with  a  tinge  of 
contempt,  or  colored  with  pity  for  human  weak- 
ness. A  genuine  Methodist  is  such  as  the  result 
of  deep,  living,  abiding  convictions;  and  loyalty 
to  conscience  means  loyalty  to  God  and  to  Meth- 
odism. If  one  see  no  providence  in  Methodism, 
no  divinity  in  its  mission,  and  if  his  connection 
with  it  be  the  result  of  impulse,  caprice,  or  con- 
venience, he  will  be  as  free  to  change  his  Church 
relations,  so  as  to  fit  circumstances,  as  he  is  to 
shift  his  clothes  to  suit  the  weather.  With  Meth- 
odist fire  in  a  man's  heart,  and  its  royal  purple 
blood  in  his  veins,  such  miserable,  namby-pamby 
shuffling  of  Church  membership  is  never  seen. 
Since  Churchmen,  and  learned  students  of  Church 
history  of  different  denominations,  regard  Meth- 
odism as  a  special  dispensation  of  Providence, 
Methodists  themselves  should  place  the  greatest 
emphasis  upon  the  fact,  and  give  to  their  Church 
a  corresponding  loyalty. 

"Glorious  things  are  spoken  of  thee,  O  Zion, 
city  of  our  God."  Such  is  the  language  of  inspi- 
ration; and  always,  in  the  elaboration  of  this  idea, 
the  genius  of  Charles  Wesley  was  at  its  best  in 
the  hymns  he  wrote.  He  interwove  this  thought 
with  the  doctrines  he  preached;  he  made  it  a 


ME THODIST  LO  YAL TY  REQ  UIRED.        363 

part  of  public  and  social  worship ;  he  incorporated 
it  in  the  prayers  and  meditations  of  the  people; 
he  used  it  to  awaken  the  missionary  spirit  of  the 
age;  and  thus  it  became  a  fundamental  and  per- 
manent element  of  Methodism.  Kings  have 
already  become  the  nursing  fathers,  and  queens 
the  nursing  mothers,  of  Methodism;  and  the 
Church  feels  that  there  is  nothing  embraced  in 
the  promises  of  God,  nor  in  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ,  that  does  not  belong  to  her.  All 
Methodism  needs,  to  accomplish  her  mission,  is 
fidelity  on  the  part  of  her  adherents.  Let  them, 
in  devotion  and  zeal,  measure  up  to  the  glorious 
things  spoken  of  our  Zion;  let  them  comprehend 
the  work  intrusted  to  their  hands  and  the  hon- 
ors that  await  them;  let  them  feel  the  inspira- 
tion of  a  special  call  from  heaven,  and  accept  the 
help  of  the  proffered  grace, — and  by  and  by  they 
will  be  made  kings  and  priests  unto  God,  to  reign 
with  him  in  millennial  glory  forever. 


mSHSSSSSSSStOKSL&aun 


•""•"'••' 'illinium 


